"The past was always present. It lives in antiques and memories, war stories and warnings, but it was never gone.
"And never passive."
Recommended by a number of seriously heavy hitters in the horror genre, "The Chill" was eerier than scary, managing to tie in themes of vengeance, family, racism, government over-reach, and environmentalism.
"But memory was a shifting thing, fluid and deceptive, and it had a way of carrying facts from one place to another so subtly that you didn't recognize the redistribution until too late. One summer the sandbar had been over there, and the next summer you were running aground on it over here. That was memory. You navigated with it, but it was shifting all the while."
Scott Carson weaves supernatural elements throughout the story, relying on a frantic intensity and a propulsive pace. His characters deftly explore the origins of water and memories of locals -- while dealing with their own challenging interpersonal dynamics.
"The day was dull and gray but the leaves were a brilliant assortment of orange, yellow, and red. A long, lovely summer with its throat cut."
While the book can veer technical and the dialogue can occasionally feel stilted, Carson smooths over the rough spots with dramatic tension. "The Chill" is a worthy read for those willing to lean into the otherworldly.
"'Let's see what we find,' she said, and they started down the trail again, taking their lead from a New York City sandhog who hadn't set foot in Torrance County in two decades as he hurried down the path that a dead man in a tunnel under Queens had instructed him to find."
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