Working on a story about Cape Cod Canal’s blue-green algae bloom, Heidi interviews Jimmy, who is apparently the person to talk to about the bloom in ‘83.
Jimmy tells Heidi a story that’s difficult to believe. Until it’s not.
Honestly, though, I don’t feel a burning need to prove to myself that what I saw was what I saw. I know it to be true, even if it was all a hallucination.
I was with Jimmy as he yearned to be the son his father wanted him to be. I couldn’t wait to see where his story was leading. The conclusion itself didn’t surprise me but I was expecting the story to wrap up a day later than it did, in a different location.
I probably enjoyed the descriptions of the body horror more than I should admit. It was a lot of fun imagining what unfolded after the final page.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read this short story.
Once Upon a Blurb
There’s something in the water in this hallucinatory short story by Paul Tremblay, bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World and The Beast You Are.
Journalist Heidi Cohen is in Cape Cod investigating the sources of recurring toxic algae blooms along the coast. A local named Jimmy has his own theory for her. Every year the fetid growth gets worse — but it’s been going on longer than anyone knows. Decades ago, something happened to Jimmy that he’s never forgotten. Is Heidi ready for the real story?
Schizanthus Nerd 