‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring’ – Horvath, Otsmane, El Haou (ID Dark)

 

Page Count: 144 Pages

It was back at the start of the year that I found myself taken by cover art showing a birds-eye view of a brown bear making her way through the woods, carrying a shovel and dragging a bloody sack behind her. Sometimes, your reading choices can be a little more interesting if you act on impulse and that’s how I came to read ‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’; a strangely sweet tale of a bear just trying to juggle work, at the local hardware store, with her ‘other work’ as a serial killer. As you do ;o)

You can read my full review over Here but here’s a couple of sentences that sum it up…

I’ll swear at the TV pretty frequently but you won’t normally catch me swearing at a book, until I read ‘Beneath The Trees’ and said ‘fuck’ out loud, twice in the first chapter.

Part murder-mystery, part ‘slasher’ and a thoughtful piece about the law of the jungle as seen through the eyes of a serial killer, all at the same time. I reckon I’ll be hard pressed to find another comic book, this year, that’s as much fun as ‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’.

At least, that’s what I thought until I came across the ‘Beneath The Trees… Halloween Special’ and realized that I had somehow missed out on a whole book’s worth of Samantha Strong’s continuing tale. Which leads us here ;o) I will sometimes read series out of order but if I’m really into it, I’ll never leave a series unfinished…

It’s been eight long years since a blood lusting brown bear drove into the city, kidnapped a kind young duck, dissected his body, and buried the pieces in the woods. The duck’s family painstakingly sought justice…but this brown bear was smart…she covered her tracks…and in the ’80s, there simply wasn’t a way for the duck’s family to find answers.

But it’s not the ’80s anymore. Almost a decade after cuddly brown bear Samantha Strong solidified herself as the sole serial killer in Woodbrook, the world is entering a new era. As Samantha will soon find out, there are no secrets in the age of the internet. And those who lost loved ones to her massacre haven’t given up the flame of justice.

A reckoning is coming to Woodbrook…

This is another tough post to write because in some ways, ‘Rite of Spring’ takes the tried and tested ‘if it ain’t broke…’ approach. Which, considering just how good the first book was, is completely understandable. Everything is drawn so sweetly and small town American life has never felt so homely; all of which really makes Samantha’s actions stand out. Just as it should.

It doesn’t leave me with a lot to say that’s ‘new’ though, does it…?

Well…

‘Rite of Spring’ is a very familiar read then but Horvath also finds the time to really take us further into the mind of Samantha and how she is coping, not only with the change in direction that America is taking but also how this impacts on her own well established routines of killing. In ‘Beneath The Trees’ I wondered if there was a little bit of the ‘hero’ in Samantha (protecting her town)… Lets just say that Horvath makes it really clear now what Samantha is, both in the games that she plays and the little insights into her past that we are given.

And not only that… What Samantha Strong does to the town of Woodbrook before she leaves.

Without going into too much detail (you may not have read the book just yet), the finale is literally explosive and watching the complete lack of expression on Samantha’s face, as she drives through it, is just chilling. The heroism of certain townsfolk is an optimistic counterpoint to this. I’m still trying to wrap my head round it all so will leave it to you to experience it for yourself.

In some respects, ‘Rites of Spring’ is very much ‘more of the same’ (and like I said, fair play for going down that road) but there’s still plenty here that develops the story, and Samantha herself, further. It’s fair to say then; if you enjoyed the first book then you’re in for a bit of a treat here. I can’t wait to see what happens next.