by Kealan Patrick Burke

The author, also a well-known anthologist (Quietly Now—the fabulous tribute/appreciation of Charles Grant—as well as Taverns of the Dead and Tales from the Gorezone) takes the small town setting of Delaware, Ohio, and imbues it with just enough wonder to evoke Bradbury and early King and even a dash of Mark Twain circa Tom Sawyer.

Timmy, eleven, and his best friend Pete, head into their summer vacation with nary a worry—until they meet a strange young boy at the pond in a nearby development, a pond which threatens to disgorge its deep, dark secrets and at the same time drag out those of others. For Timmy and Pete (and new friend Kim), meeting Darryl proves to be a turning point not only this summer, but in their lives. The horror that lies in the pond will touch all of them with its cold fingers, and it will continue to touch them in future tales featuring Timmy Quinn.

With simple, evocative prose and quietly poetic descriptive passages, Burke takes us into the supposedly best time of a child's life—the lazy days of summer, with their heat and buzzing insects—and deftly peels away layers of darkness in revelation after revelation, some of which are likely to remind us altogether too easily of the dark things that often touch young lives. The always reliable Caniglia supplies a striking, mysteriously grotesque cover plus interior art, in a package that showcases all the best qualities of the vibrant small press.