LOGAN VS PUMPKIN SEEDS

Logan lets us know if Tyler Downs Pumpkin Seeds and its Halloween setting are a trick or treat?

TITLE: Pumpkin Seeds

AUTHOR: Tyler Downs

GENRE: Detective Noir/Supernatural Horror

PAGES: 209

FORMAT: E-book/Hardcover/Paperback/Audiobook

PRICE: $13.99 paperback, $4.99 e-book, $21.00 hardcover, $17.24 audiobook.

Shifting, feeling, a place of unknowable evil. The town drifts into view as we find ourselves at the epicenter of those dark days. Days that left a stain on the world, on the town of Salem. A lone man walks; a shot rings out. He falls, trying to protect his valued car. However, with his death comes a curse.

We have entered Salem, Massachusetts, and the world of Pumpkin Seeds by Tyler Downs. 

It’s funny, because as I read this book, narrated by the incredible Derek Austin, I couldn’t help but think of something I found in my family tree. My seven or eight-times great grandfather was Samuel Wardwell. The last of those executed during the Salem Witch Trials. 

This realization pulled me into the book even more, as we fell into the dark underbelly of Salem. Where the dead P.I. Ed returns every Halloween to solve crimes and protect the people, along with his sidekick Sam, and the woman who shares his curse, Wren. 

A triple homicide turns into the case of a lifetime as Ed tries to save some of the last descendants of those who were persecuted during the trials. I have always enjoyed small town horror, and if you toss in detective horror mysteries, I will always be all in.

He also masterfully uses the small-town trope in a way that feels real and interesting. Tyler has taken us to a town we all know from history and really created a world around it. 

There are so many small references that could lead to spinoffs that make me smile. Because I want more Ed!  He is so well written and feels exactly like the old Noir detectives. He is grizzled and scary, and most importantly dead. 

Tyler’s prose pulls you in from the start and he does a fantastic job popping between characters when needed and writes a masterful twist. 

For this to be a debut novel, I am more than just impressed, I am intrigued and will be reading more of his work. 

The only thought I have is that the book could’ve been a little longer. He nails a lot of it early and it hits a breakneck pace from the start. Not so different from my own detective story with Silas Sword. It could have been helped with room to breathe, and I think the same can be said here. 

However, that is a small thing, so small that it doesn’t truly matter. I think it is more so that I didn’t want to leave the world and wanted to learn more about all the characters.  

I think that is especially where Tyler excels, he writes real feeling characters, everything they do feel human, and they are all more than black and white. Which I think is where the most compelling character lies, and he knocks it out of the park. Check out this book today! 

As it is time to leave, I feel a longing, for Salem, for Ed, for the world. 

As the noose tightens around my neck, five Jack O lanterns stare back at me, burning into my soul.

There’s a snap, and I’m gone.

Until next time.

Logan Patrick has earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, and author of The Disappearing of Three Forks, and has been included in the Horrorzine. As well as a collection, Marked: Tales of S.T.A.N.G.E., Logan has a background in theater, from acting to directing. As well as a play that is still in development.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.