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★★★☆☆��

I’m sad to admit that I watch way too much TV. My addiction is so out of control that I even try to keep abreast of all the exciting new shows coming down the pike—pathetic, I know. Last year I saw an intriguing trailer for an upcoming show on Fox called Wayward Pines. After watching, I filed it away in the old steel trap, and didn’t think too much more about it. Then a few months ago reviews for a book called Pines started popping up all over my feed. The story seemed vaguely familiar somehow, but I couldn’t quite place it, until I read Kelly’s crazy ass review. That’s when it all came flooding back.

Attempting to review this book without spoilers is a bit tricky, but I’ll give it a shot.

As a long time student of Sherlock Holmes, I’ve always utilized this piece of sage advice when tackling any new mystery, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.�� Well Mr. Holmes, that’s all fine and dandy when dealing with one of your little adventures, or maybe even some real life mysteries, but the problem with applying that logic to a story like this is that it’s hard to know what’s impossible. And that’s the rub. Is the tale grounded in reality or are there fantasy elements at play? Just how far can the impossible be stretched?

Over the course of the story, I came up with and eliminated several hypotheses. But the one that I clung to, the only one that seemed to fit all the clues, eventually did bear fruit. However, while I may have been correct in my theory, I was still way off in the scope of things.

So now I put the challenge to you, Dear Reader. Pull up a chair; throw on your deerstalker cap; tamp down that tobacco in your brier-root pipe and give it a light; mix up a 7% solution of cocaine for a rainy day. Whaddaya say, do you think you’re ready to crack this nut?

If so, here are a few sample questions to chew on:

❅Why can’t we make contact with the outside world?
❅Why are we leery of certain people for no apparent reason?
❅What’s wrong with this place?
❅Why can’t we just leave?
❅What in the hell is going on here!

A few other important questions will creep up along your journey, but I’ll keep those to myself for fear of spoiling your own experience.

The good news is that, if you follow all the clues, you too may solve this crazy little mystery. The bad news is that those morons at Fox seem to have condensed the trilogy into a brief ten episode miniseries. So now I’ll have to read books two and three, before even starting the show. Ugh.

Final verdict: Although, I did run into a handful of problems with the story—namely, the reasoning laid out for the fêtes didn’t seem to jibe with the mission goals—for the most part, I was able to overlook those shortcomings and just enjoy the ride. If you read for excitement, mystery, and intrigue, and enjoy short, fast-paced thrillers, then you’re in luck.

Just keep in mind:

YESTERDAY IS HISTORY.
TOMORROW IS A MYSTERY.
TODAY IS A GIFT.
THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED THE PRESENT.
WORK HARD, BE HAPPY, AND ENJOY YOUR
LIFE IN WAYWARD PINES!

3.5 Stars - rounded up for a change.