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We did have a couple of glimpses into magical realism in The Last Child. Remember the tree? The eagle? Remember Levi and how the doctor could not make sense of the X-rays? Just tiny glimpses, but they were there.

In The Hush, there is no avoiding magical realism. The story also moves into supernatural elements that challenge the majority of the key characters in this book �� and many other secondary characters. Suspicions lead to superstitions lead to unexplainable supernatural phenomena.

For some people such as law enforcement and professional trackers, the desire is for known reality to take the bite out of fear of the unknown. This leads to more conflict, hardships, and even deaths.

There is a crossover in this novel into fantasy that I recognized from the days when I read that genre a lot. Instead of slipping a ring on a finger and disappearing into another world, (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever) in this book it is as simple as walking into a vast swampland known as The Hush.

Whether The Hush allows entry or instead confuses trails and pathways and direction and terrain depends on who is going there. Since Johnny Merrimon lives within The Hush and has used gunfire to scare off intruders before, suspicion falls heavily on him when people start showing up dead. Even though, or possibly especially because it is Johnny who finds them and reports their deaths.

I had a bit of a problem with Johnny in this book. In The Last Child, what was endearing and brave for a 13-year-old becomes a tad annoying and irksome in a 23 or 24 year old. A pee contest with a Sheriff trying to get information was not helpful - even though Johnny knew the consequences and knew he would not handle those consequences well. Also, at one point Johnny was having far too much fun watching from a distance and chuckling as people were floundering in the swamp �� lost, terrified, being eaten alive by mosquitoes and not knowing how to get out of there. I also questioned why he put up barriers between himself and Jack when it was obvious that of anyone Johnny knew, Jack would be the one to understand. These are minor irritants but I was hoping for a bit more nobleness of character from Johnny.

I do confess that although I am not a huge fan of magical realism nor of fantasy any more, those elements �� and even the supernatural ones �� were well done. This book would not have existed without those features because it was based on the histories of the families who came before (Johnny’s ancestors and their slaves) and how certain incidents and influences of those times tracked through decades to converge in the present �� and why.

There is a lot of darkness in this book, and even though their friendship is tested severely, Johnny and his best friend Jack Cross (now a lawyer) add some light and hope.

I didn’t love this book but I also didn’t hate it. It was well-written (other than Johnny’s behaviors fairly early on) and full of suspense. For those who want more involvement in Johnny Merrimon and Jack Cross�� lives and adventures straight up, this is likely not the best choice. However, I can definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy magical realism mixed with fantasy and supernatural �� I think it would definitely appeal.