The body horror was interesting and creative. The characters are awful and immature. This is more a political complaint, not enough safe spaces I guess, than the mystery horror it’s advertised as. So disappointed in this, it was a priority read for me this year. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Dangers lurk around every turn in the rugged Pacific Northwest forests

In Wendy N Wagner’s Girl in the Creek we head to Mt. Hood National Forest and the small town of Faraday, located in the wilds of Oregon, for an eco-horror centred around the suspicious disappearances of hitchhikers in the wild Pacific Northwest. This is a solid thriller, with some terrific sequences, particularly reminiscent of Nick Cutter’s The Troop, which is held back by a group of vaguely drawn characters who are so similar I repeatedly mixed them up.

Even if Girl in the Creek is populated by bland samey characters, ironically this is certainly not the case with the setting, which is expertly and atmospherically well drawn. The natural threat of the rugged and forest terrain oozes from the page, the abandoned buildings were equally startlingly described, as a group of twenty-somethings explore the area, whilst potentially researching an article for a travel magazine and other more secretive motives. The nature scenes are so vividly described the reader can almost feel the moister from the rain seeping from the pages and I loved hanging out in this wild location.

However, a great setting does not guarantee a terrific novel and Girl in the Creek is arguably held back by the fact it drops its biggest ‘reveal’ lies in the prologue. Even if the scene with the diseased coyote is skilfully and vividly written, revealing the ‘Strangeness’ at such an early stage removes the element of any future surprises. In reality, by giving the Strangeness a POV, I found this entity to be dull, uninvolving and did little in adding to suspense. If you want another book in the same ballpark, check out Mira Grant’s Overgrowth (2025) where a similar type of creation is given a much more powerful and gripping voice. Apart from main character Erin Harper, the Strangeness is the only other POV in the novel, which does partially give a voice to one of the missing women which the story revolves around.

Erin arrives at Faraday with a dual purpose, write an article for a travel magazine and secretly search into the disappearance of her elder brother Bryan from five years earlier. Connected to this is a fascinating thread, which the author abandons, of the fact that many of those who vanish are predominately women of colour. Floating in the background is the idea that the police do not do enough to find them. A podcast connected to one of the other women is discussed but never explored fully and instead once the story begins to motor it focuses entirely on the Strangeness. These disappearances hold little in the way of suspense as the prologue has already given away too much, even after Erin finds one of the young women dead in a stream whilst out hiking in the early part of the novel.

If you enjoy books with an X-Files vibe then there is still plenty of fun to be had journeying with Erin and her new friends, there are also plenty of human threats to contend with along with the Strangeness. The manner in which the entity is described, a contagious fungi described in this book seems to ooze secretly through the terrain and is at its best when reanimating the animals and whoever it controls. In the background is the idea that climate change plays its part in the expansion of the Strangeness across Mt. Hood National Forest.

Once Erin and friends leave the relative safety of Faraday the pace picks up and I particularly enjoyed the scenes in the abandoned town, which nature has all but reclaimed, with the group akin to urban explorers. My biggest struggle with the book comes from the amount of characters and the unclear relationships they shared with each other and the local bad guys who lurked in the background but contributed little to the overall story. After a brief time in begins clear the fate which befell Bryan (and the other women) and this was creatively injected into this botanically themed horror novel.

If you enjoy eco-horror or the appropriately named ‘Sporror’ (think mushrooms) then Girl in the Creek has much to offer. If you get past the interchangeable characters and let the beautiful grandeur of the Pacific Northwest take hold there are elements of both body horror and techno-thrillers lurking within the buried secrets that will not stay buried forever.

3.5/5

I thought the mushroom horror was really well written it was my favorite part but i struggled with character who were too similar to each other and I kept confusing them and I'm disappointed by the ending to be honest the forest horror was great and aliens made it very generic with how it was handled after and about the very end, same thing, I did not like it it felt out of nowhere and that there was nothing leading to it but overall it was easy to read and enjoyable!

this was enjoyable, i really got into it in the second half of the book. the mushroom body horror was horrifyingly well done, and honestly some of my favourite parts. and that ending also got me pretty good!! i didn’t expect that sort of conclusion lol. my only complaints would be sometimes the main character felt a bit flat and some stuff just didn’t make sense to me, but still entertaining. thank you to the publishers and net galley for the advanced digital copy!

Buckle up, Readers, and prepare yourselves for Sporror galore!

Erin is ostensibly writing a piece for a travel a magazine when she visits a town in the foothills of Mt. Hood with a group of friends and acquaintances for a rafting trip. But she and her bestie Hari have an ulterior motive - they are investigating as part of their research for a podcast episode addressing the numerous mysterious disappearances in the area over the past several years. Erin's own brother is one of those missing people. At the same time, readers are treated to occasional chapters from the POV of various lifeforms that have been infected by something called the Strangeness, all becoming various extensions of some central creeptastic intelligence.

There were a lot of characters introduced all in a short span of time, but Erin is the only one we learn about beyond surface level, and she is our only POV character beyond the chapters of the Strange. The other characters probably could have used a little more delving into; some side characters such as the police deputy and the Steadman brothers felt especially thin. On the other hand, the idea of the Strangeness was a super compelling one, and I thought its origins and history were really neat.

The pacing in this book is not quite perfect. It doesn't lag at all, but rather somewhere around 66% or so things ratchet up from 0 to 60 all at once, and then readers are just hit over and over again with some truly wild and grisly things happening with little lulls in between each crazy encounter.

Some of my all time favorite books are parasitic fungal horror, and while I enjoyed this story, it wasn't quite to the same degree as those others. Perhaps because the tension and dread were a little less insidious and more in your face? I'm not sure I can explain the exact reason, but overall I still found this to be a 4 star read and think it's a decent addition to the subgenre. A creepy as heck tale that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.

Much thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Weaving together science fiction, mystery, body horror, and climate fiction, the concept of this book was so cool and it has such a gorgeous cover. I had no idea that mushrooms could be so unsettling! With rich descriptions of nature, particularly fungi, strange and supernatural elements, and a puzzling mysterious entity, there were so many aspects of this book that I really enjoyed!

While I appreciated Erin’s perspective, there were just so many characters to keep straight and I didn’t feel a connection with any of the side characters. They all seemed similar and it would have been helpful if they had been more fully developed to make it easier to connect with them.

If you’re looking for a fungal horror story set in a creepy little town, a mysterious forest, and a sinister presence lurking in the woods, you may enjoy this more than me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this book!

I've been excited about this book for over a year, when it was initially announced. I sadly didn't love it like I'd hoped I would: I felt like there were tonal shifts that didn't fully work for me and threw me off from chapter to chapter (sometimes things felt almost Scooby-Doo-ish, but then they'd veer splatterpunk/super gorey or meditative and quiet).

I think this is a great eco horror book. I am realizing eco horror is not my preference of horror. I was not a huge fan of the writing style, but this writing style is also something I see used in book that do incredibly well, so I think due to that, this book was executed well and is wonderful. It is not for me though, and I did not find myself interested in continuing my journey with this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC for free. I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

3.5 ⭐️


How do I even describe this book? It feels like that friend we all have who promises a wild night out but then spends half the evening texting someone else instead of fully committing to the party.

The story follows Erin Harper, a freelance writer on a mission to unravel the mystery of her brother’s disappearance in the shadowy Mt. Hood National Forest. Wagner sets the stage beautifully with the description’s of damp moss, glowing fungi, and a creeping sense that the trees might just swallow you whole.

Erin’s quest takes a turn when she finds a body in a creek, only for it to vanish from the morgue like a magician’s assistant, leaving behind fingerprints at a murder scene. Is it a serial killer? Alien spores? The forest itself?

And while the mystery keeps you guessing, the resolution left me scratching my head, wondering if I’d missed a trail marker. I won’t spoil, but sometimes I was like, “what?” and also “who is this again?” Because it felt like there were 20 characters that are just Count Olaf in a different costume.

The Girl in the Creek is an eco horror book about mushrooms gone bad. The first chapter really caught my attention and drew me in. The premise is interesting and feels unique even in the trend of fungal horror (ie The Last of Us). I especially liked the twist at the end. The characters did feel a bit contrived at times but overall it was an enjoyable read. As a ln Oregon native I also really enjoyed all the local references in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted this novel to be eerie eco-terror driven by fully-realized characters, but the concept aside, every element of this novel fell flat for me. Despite being drawn in by the book description and the first chapter, I struggled to keep reading, even when the plot picked up about halfway through. I would have loved this novel, if not for the cardboard-thin characters, inconsistent motivations, cringey dialogue, and writing that was often so childish, I was pulled out of the story completely. (We're talking "ice-blue eyes," "she looked like a sports model and carried herself like a black belt—which she was," and so on.)

It’s a shame because when the body horror finally makes an appearance, it does pack a gleefully gruesome punch. But the horror elements — violence, death, terror — felt incongruous with the juvenile quality of the writing, making for an uneven and uninspired read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first started this read, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was a little thrown off and had a hard time following the plot.. Instead of giving up, I stuck with it and fell in love with the descriptive writing throughout.

A bit slow to start but once the action started, the book pulled me right in. It introduced a body horror element to what "The Strange" was capable of and really brought the story into the horror genre. Very good descriptive writing, I could smell parts of this book.

I may be the only one who thought this but The "Strange" refers to the symbiotic fungus but it just made me think of the slang term for female anatomy..... maybe the fungus should just be called "The Strangeness" to avoid the association. I blame all the crime drama I watch.

I was pleasantly surprised with the twist at the ending. The implications are terrible. I think the young adults at the library will like this one.

A brilliantly written spore horror novel with memorable characters and a fast paced plot that is relentless and thrilling. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Full review to come soon.

Awesome book! Very Different from your usual scary spooky stories. I have always preferred those horror novels with the person being possessed by an evil spirit. This book is such a good example of what I mean. Also I love the outdoors and the woods people hike and study. This even has a tunnel and cave so serious stuff. Just go ahead and read this to get into a super story you will enjoy. Love the surprise ending too. I don't like to tell in the review what the book is about except to say I enjoyed it a lot and it's scary!

This book was a very interesting read. The suspense was top notch and I really enjoyed the pacing. The characters felt relatable either in the sense that they seemed like me or a friend. I really enjoyed reading it.

In Wagner’s upcoming horror novel, we follow Erin Harper as she arrives in Faraday, Oregon, to attempt to uncover what happened to her missing brother. While looking for her brother, she instead discovers the body of a missing girl. After the girl’s body mysteriously vanishes from the morgue and more people end up dead and/or missing, it’s clear there is something more sinister going on in the town of Faraday.

I was immediately impressed by how atmospheric this read was. It does justice to the botanical horror genre by heightening the reader’s senses with the use of super descriptive writing. The contagious strange fungi described in this book seemed to seep through the pages, and I often felt myself become itchy when our characters found themselves in super uncomfortable situations. I loved these elements!

I also must commend the author on the amount of research they must have done for this book. While we were following the POV of the ‘Strangeness’ (another fantastic element to the book), the writing seemed to shift and felt more alien and beautiful.

My struggle with the book comes from the amount of characters and the unclear relationships they all shared. I struggled to keep them straight and at one point, there was an error (I believe), where a character was called by a completely different name… at least I think it was a mistake? I know I was reading an unedited ARC, so I am sure this will be corrected before release, but it still threw me for a loop. The start of the book was rough for me due to not fully understanding how everyone knew each other. While I did enjoy the ending, I felt the climax was rushed.

Overall, this was a really fun read. I was reminded heavily of Nick Cutter’s The Troop at times, so if you are looking for a similar atmospheric botanical horror with X-file vibes, I recommend adding this one to your TBR when it’s released!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!