Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

by Patrick Horvath

Patrick Horvath (Illustrator)

Live, laugh, shed blood. Dexter meets Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town in this twisted debut graphic novel!

Don’t. Murder. The locals.

This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm decor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.

So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.

Cute critters aren’t immune to crime in this original graphic novel debut by writer-artist Patrick Horvath.

• ISBN13: 9798887241081
• Publish Date: 17 September 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: IDW Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 152
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9798887241081

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Summary:

Samantha Strong has spent her whole life in a small town. As such, she's created and perfected a certain set of rules. Rule number one is that you don't EVER murder the locals. Yeah, this means she has to commute a bit to follow her, um, dreams, but it's worth it.

Unfortunately, somebody else did not get the memo. So Samantha is going to have to step up and solve this murder before people look too closely at their fellow citizens...you never know what they might notice.

Review:

I picked up Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees on an impulse. The description and cover are so incongruous (intentionally so) that I knew it was worth reading. I was not disappointed. That said, don't dive into this book without understanding that you WILL be getting a woodland version of Dexter.

First, I have to say that I love this weird merger. It's so disturbingly perfect, and it gives me the chills on more than one occasion. I'll admit that the graphic elements bordered on too much for me at times (Dexter was never my cup of tea, so I anticipated this, but I was fine with the risk).

That said, I love the characters, tongue-in-cheek nature of the story, and the overall atmosphere created by the juxtaposition of elements. It made for a jarring and wholly unique experience – one I won't soon be forgetting!

Highlights:
Thriller/Horror
Surprisingly Twist
Tongue-in-cheek artstyle
Dexter meets cute furry animals

Thanks to IDW Publishing and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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