The Unfamiliar Garden

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: The Unfamiliar Garden (The Comet Cycle #2)
Author: Benjamin Percy
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release Date: 1.4.22


Publisher’s Summary
The night the sky fell, Jack and Nora Abernathy’s daughter vanished in the woods. And Mia’s disappearance broke her parents’ already fragile marriage. Unable to solve her own daughter’s case, Nora lost herself in her work as a homicide detective. Jack became a shell of a man; his promising career as a biologist crumbling alongside the meteor strikes that altered weather patterns and caused a massive drought.

It isn’t until five years later that the rains finally return to nourish Seattle. In this period of sudden growth, Jack uncovers evidence of a new parasitic fungus, while Nora investigates several brutal, ritualistic murders. Soon they will be drawn together by a horrifying connection between their discoveries—partnering to fight a deadly contagion as well as the government forces that know the truth about the fate of their daughter.

Award-winning author Benjamin Percy delivers both a gripping science fiction thriller and a dazzling examination of a planet—and a marriage—that have broken.


My Review
As the second book in the Comet Cycle series, The Unfamiliar Garden doesn't simply pick up where the first book left off. Instead, author Benjamin Percy offers a parallel storyline with connections to some of the characters and events of the first book. Just as I expressed my shock at how much I loved the first book (read my review here), I find myself doing the same for this one. The first book featured warring between and within families, a town cult, government experiments, police drama, and political power plays all set within a modern-day gold rush. The second book is a scientific wonderland of mushrooms and the exploration of the effects of materials from outer space on our ecosystem. It also features the emotional erosion of a marriage in the wake of a child's disappearance and the detailed description of a hunt for a serial killer. I am just blown away by how Percy blends so many different stand-alone genres into not only a coherent story but one that is so beautifully written. I'm hooked on The Comet Cycle for sure!