The Street Between The Pines by J.J. Alo; Mesmerizing Supernatural Thriller Let Down By Demystifying Explanation

The Street Between The Pines by J.J. Alo; Mesmerizing Supernatural Thriller Let Down By Demystifying Explanation 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: J.J. Alo’s novel, The Street Between The Pines, illustrates the difficulties of crossing subgenres and making the Reader think that they are reading one specific type of book only to realize that they are reading a completely different one. 

When a tropical storm pounds down rain, lightning, wind, floods, and more severe weather into New England, Norwich, Connecticut is hit with some strange occurrences. A man is practically devoured by an unknown creature. Another man is pulled into a river while fishing for a very large catch. A woman goes missing after she walks her dog. Clowders of mysterious cats are seen everywhere. An estranged couple comes face to face with a powerful and terrifying sea monster as their basement is flooded. What is going on? Is it something supernatural? A curse on the town? A creature from local New England legends making an appearance? An ancient God displeased with humanity's destruction of the planet? Is there a more logical explanation? Perhaps a science experiment gone awry? A government conspiracy? An experiment in mass psychosis? Parallel dimensions? Aliens? 

The first half of the book suggests one possibility. Then it does a 180 and gives another explanation making an uneven work that captures two distinct subgenres and ends up doing neither one any favors.

I have mentioned many times that I love when books transcend genres and do various things. A police officer investigates a case of grizzly serial murders and comes face to face with a vampire. A college freshman explores life and love at a university where they study magic. Boy meets girl/alien at a singles bar in a far off galaxy. Good authors that combine subgenres keep the Readers on edge and off kilter so they can see beyond the tropes and expectations and embrace this strange offspring of two very different parents. 

However, it's very important to make sure that the couple is compatible before they copulate. The Author has to maintain the delicate balance between the various subgenres so the results are melded together and are not jarring. Unfortunately, The Street Between The Pines is very jarring. 

The first half of the book is far better than the second. There are very chilling chapters which illustrate the “nothing is scarier than something” trope that is so common in horror. Characters investigate something weird happening and can hear a strange noise creaking around the backyard, some sea creature a lot larger than a duck moving in the water, or can just make out a mysterious shadow. Unfortunately they are then attacked and that strange figure is the last thing that they will ever see.

Everything suggests some strange crossing of the natural and supernatural world. The cats offer some sinister foreshadowing since they have never been seen around these areas of Norwich before. They could be foreshadowing the death and destruction that is to come.

The flood motif throughout the book plays on uncontrollable environmental fear. As the water overwhelms the homes and leaves people in survival mode, the attacks become more prominent. The destruction of nature and the arrival of the supernatural serves as both an intended disruption and condemnation. With flooding of coastal towns and cities being a prominent sign of climate change, it may be no coincidence that Alo used it so often as a metaphor. This natural destruction suggests that humanity has messed with nature long enough so nature works with humanity's greatest fears to settle the score.

The book also captures regional folklore. One character researches books and sites to discover the type of creature that attacked their house and discovers the Norwaukus, a Connecticut based cryptid. It is fascinating for both locals and outsiders when authors base their books on local folklore. Those who are from that area will like the inside reference and those who aren't will enjoy getting introduced to a new legend and character.

I have not found any information to show that the Norwaukus is an actual cryptid from Connecticut legends. More than likely it's based on the Glawackus, which is described as “one of Connecticut’s big three cryptids.” (The other two are the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills and the Winstead Wildman.) It is a very interesting and unique take to bring a local creature to the front of one’s book and give it some national attention.

However this supernatural horror devolves into something else. For spoiler’s sake not much will be revealed about the resolutions. Characters learn the origins of these cryptids and what the purpose was behind the attacks. Unfortunately it's revealed in a clunky overly verbose section that turns a Supernatural Horror into a Science Fiction Thriller and not a good one.

The exposition is rather tedious, boring, and comes out of nowhere. It creates some plot holes and frustrating unexplained questions such as why the creatures attacked coincidentally at the same time as the severe weather. Why were particular characters singled out to be attacked? What role did the cats play and if none at all why did the narration make a big deal about them? 

 The worst part of all is that the explanation also removes the mystery from the cryptids. This in turn makes them less scary. They were much more chilling when we didn't know about them and could fill in our own assumptions or at least if the resolution had an unusual paranormal explanation

on to it. Instead, they are seen not as creatures who live to themselves and have no means of

being controlled or subdued. Instead they became

servile pawns to achieve someone human’s

ambitions.

The suspense is removed and the threat is

weakened. This turns a book that started out so

promising into a slow sluggish ponderous mess.