Time for another buffer book between readings of the Silent Night saga. Especially after the second one, we need anything else to get my mind off of it. This one looks okay, so maybe it will be good. I mean, Silent Night 2 is essentially our bottom so far and I can't imagine going lower than that. But we'll find out for ourselves. It's time to go Missing.
This cover is fine. Definitely has the feel of the earlier cover designs for Fear Street with a heavier focus on misty backgrounds and eerie settings. I even like the ominous shadow cast over our cover kids. Although, their posture, especially the girl's makes me think she's pretending to surf. It's a very goofy angle. But other than that it's fine.
A cop named Captain Farraday arrives at their doorstep, which makes Cara worry that something's happened to their parents. Instead he's here to bring up that there's been reports of a robbery in the neighborhood. So, nothing about what's going on with Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs. The party dies down as Cory ended up vomiting on the floor, which is less embarrassing than simping for a supposed ghost girl I guess. Everyone leaves while Gena and Mark are still in a seemingly never-ending make out session. Mark has so much lipstick over him that Cara refers to him as looking like Bozo the Clown. So, I guess he'd be perfect for whatever David Arquette is doing with the brand.
As Mark and Cara begin to clean up, we get a bit more info on their parents. They're mainframe computer specialists, tasked to install computers for companies. Once the job is done they move to another town, but not before getting involved with a lot of the town's clubs and organizations. Cara mentions that her parents are younger than most and it's weird that they seem to almost want to get away from their kids as much as possible. Mark is concerned, mentioning strange stories about Fear Street Woods, how they may have ended up there, but Cara doubts their parents are in any bad way. She goes to call them, but notices that the phone line is dead. So that cancels that plan out.
The kids then hear noises in the attic, only to discover it's Roger, their mother's distant cousin. He's rather tall and is described with sandy hair and intense eyes, yet is shy and not the most talkative, so he mostly hangs out in their attic. He eats some pretzel goldfish (which, great now I want some Goldfish crackers, thanks Bob) and is also concerned about the Burroughs parents being missing. He asks them if they left any form of note, but the kids shrug it off and think they probably didn't since it's not part of their parents' normal routine. We also learn that Mark's other interest besides Gena is that he's a massive Trekkie, and it's appointment TV. But Cara decides they should still check their parents' room for clues. Cara looks at their bed and screams.
We then switch narration to Mark. He mentions that Cara screamed on account of their parents' bed being unmade, which isn't normal given their parents are neat freaks and such. He then thinks about Gena and how he's met her father who is some kind of doctor, but he doesn't know just of what. I swear, if there's a plant man in his basement... Mark and Cara then notice they're not alone. That's because Roger was behind the curtains, um... looking outside. Yes, that's the ticket. They also notice him holding what appears to be a Walkman, but he just puts it in his pocket then leaves. After he leaves, the kids notice a gray van outside. They then find something even more questionable. A monkey skull with rhinestones in it. Not a real monkey skull, but made of ivory so don't worry, an animal still suffered. Stine wouldn't let you down!
Mark tries to sleep, but given his parents are missing and there's a weird monkey skull in their house, you can forgive the sudden insomnia. He looks outside and sees Roger running to the gray van which opens and pulls him into the back. Mark begins to suspect something up with Roger, so he goes to check his room, only to be scared by Roger who got back super quick. The next day, still no parents. Mark tells Cara about Roger's strange actions and the two check out his room while he's out. It's a rather drab looking attic space, but odder to Cara is that none of Roger's notebooks have any marks on them, as if they were never used. And the even odder find for them is a pistol in his underwear drawer.
Narration switch back to Cara as she tells Mark to put down the gun. With the phone still dead, Cara heads over to their neighbor Mrs. Fisher's house to use hers, which does work. Cara soon finds out that every other house has been fine, only the Burroughs house is cut. We also get a bit more info on just where Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs are working. Cranford Industries, which makes a bunch of aircraft parts and has ties to the FBI. And I don't mean Flowers By Irene. Or maybe I do? Cranford Industries is two towns over, which makes this whole thing just seem weirder than it already is. Mrs. Fisher also begins to mention something before hushing herself. So, with nobody else to call, Cara thinks the only thing they can do right now is get to Cranford.
Cara returns home and we get our next bizarre clue. Their parents' car is still in the garage, which would make getting to work tricky. As the two prepare their trip to Cranford Industries, they spot the van again. Mark asks about Roger, but the people inside have no idea what he's going on about. Cara and Mark arrive at Cranford Industries, but things seem pretty weird there too. First off, the two have to be scanned with a metal detector before going inside. And even more damning, they learn that their parents don't work there. As the receptionist calls a man named Mr. Blumenthal, Cara remembers that with their parents being special workers, maybe they're not in the company's computer system. They get taken to the head of the company, Mr. Marcus, who says that there must be some mistake. They didn't need any computer installation lately, and there was no Lucy or Greg Burroughs who were installing anything.
Back to Mark's narration (which, like, having their name atop the chapter would help to differentiate quicker). The kids return to Shadyside and go to school. They try to call their home phone and it works this time with Roger picking up. But when Mark tries to ask about what's going on, Roger quickly hangs up. Then Mark learns that Gena dumped him, so now he's more miserable about that and not, you know, his parents lying to them about their job and vanishing for a day and a half at this point. As we switch back to Cara's narration, Mark tells her that Gena was acting strange. Breaking up with him not so much out of any anger, but she seemed to be scared, as if someone was telling her to do so. And when he headed to Gena's, her dad seemed to be acting weird about it.
Cara calls Captain Farraday and he says that he'll have officers check around for any signs of their parents. She then hears a click, as if someone else hung up the phone. After she hangs up, Cara spots Roger by the staircase, seemingly listening in on their discussion. Roger tries to explain his actions, but Cara isn't buying it. The siblings mention everything they saw. The van incident and the gun. Roger says they're hallucinating him going to any van and the gun's just a memento, then chastises them for raiding his room. After he leaves, Cara decides to follow, while Mark stays home just in time to get a call from Gena who is in a panic, trying to tell him something important before the phone cuts out.
As Mark heads through Fear Street Woods, he talks about hearing a story about five kids trying to last the night in the woods, only for a monster to show up, like some sort of giant rat or guinea pig. Let's just hope it wasn't eating any kind of green slime. The kids ran off to get help, but weren't believed. At least until the next day when their camping supplies were torn apart. This book is one of the earlier Fear Street books, if you couldn't tell, but you can really tell with this part as it still feels like there's a sense of importance to the lore and the stories about what's gone down in Fear Street. It's something that, at least to my experience, goes further and further away over time. I'll elaborate more in the conclusion as to what I mean. Mark goes through the woods and hears footsteps by him. As he's distracted, he ends up stepping into a trap.
Back over to Cara as she follows Roger. She spots Roger going into a coffee shop and notices him talking to the same guy from the van earlier, seemingly confirming that he's been lying to them all this time. Cara is about to leave, but gets spotted by Roger who says that the man is Dr. Murdoch who is helping him with his major. This major involving some sort of papers that look like maps. But, you know, real doctor stuff. Cara leaves, deciding to get rid of Roger's gun since she doesn't trust him at this point, only to have a car following behind her.
As for Mark, he fell in a hole with the thing that chased him. That being a dog. A dog that seemed to get free from wherever it was chained up. Mark manages to escape and finds Gena's house. He looks inside and notices her dad watching TV. This being the 90s, there's a vine trellis that leads up to Gena's room. He starts climbing, only to slip and fall. As for Cara, the car behind her was Captain Farraday. She mentions everything about Roger and that monkey head we seemed to move on from really quick for, again, an ivory monkey head with rhinestones. But Farraday seems to react calmly to all of this info and takes Cara home. She gets home and tries to calm down, though with Mark now gone that's not happening. Especially with someone pulling into the driveway.
Mark recovers and manages to get into Gena's room, though he cuts his hand in the process. Looks normal. No sign of a struggle. There's even posters on the wall of Tom Cruise and... Dennis Quaid? Were teenage girls really into Dennis Quaid in 1990? Like, not a bad looking guy, but, this is peak Swayze era and she's got a poster of Dennis Quaid? Eh, at least it isn't Randy I guess. He decides to wait for Gena to come back because that's not creepy at all. He also finds another rhinestone monkey head. The door opens and Gena's dad comes in with a gun. But he doesn't shoot Mark. In fact he thinks that Mark was a burglar. Though, given there's a teenage boy in your daughter's bedroom with a bloody hand, I'd be worried that he's more than a burglar. Mark asks about Gena, but Dr. Rawlings says that she was upset about the break up and left to her "cousin's". Despite, again, nothing being taken that would make it look like she left somewhere. But he's sent home regardless.
The person in the driveway was Lisa Blume, who Stine again mentions that she looks like Cher, so connectivity from The New Girl, I approve. Cara talks to Lisa about the breakup with Mark and Gena, to which Lisa turns it into a story about two other kids making out while chewing gum, so it went in the other's mouth. Not exactly French Class here. Lisa offers Cara to stay at her place and mentions Gary Brandt is interested in her. Wow, a ton of connectivity in this one. Still plenty of time for a Suki Thomas cameo. Cara declines the offer, but goes to check on Roger's gun. It's gone. Yeah, maybe telling him bluntly that you're on to him was a bad idea there.
The next day rolls up and things aren't any different. No parents. Mark's still depressed. Hell, both kids are more worried than ever at this point. Cara then remembers, as we're 40 pages left in this book BTW, that "oh right, their parents have a friend named Wally Wilburn that can prove their parents worked for Cranford." They find Wally's address and head to his house. And sure enough, he seems to confirm that Greg and Lucy worked with him at Cranford, only he hasn't seen them all week. So now Cara is certain that Mr. Marcus lied to them about their parents not working there. As they head home, the van is back by their house. The kids head inside only to find Roger in the attic. Dead. With an arrow in his chest. Okay, maybe someone really was a Ragin' Robin Hood.
Captain Farraday is conveniently there as well and blames Mark for the murder of Roger. Suddenly, Murdoch enters with the pistol in hand, so Farraday opens fire and hits him three times in the chest. So this ramped up. Farraday then calls the police station and says there's need for backup. But Mark quickly catches on that Farraday didn't call anybody. And maybe it was him who killed Roger as well and tried to frame Mark for it. Mark punches Farraday and tries to take his gun, but that doesn't work. Farraday reveals that he was a cop, but not anymore. Not since his parents cost him his job. But now he's back and wants revenge on their parents for some reason that's still not defined yet.
As he goes to kill them, Gena shows up with a rifle and tells Mark and Cara that they're late for the "meeting". They lock Farraday in the garage before heading to the woods where they see people in hooded robes with monkey masks on. The same as the weird ivory one. Gena gets them some robes to blend in. They see a pair in the hoods and masks who unmask to reveal that they're Mark and Cara's parents. Oh, and they're cult leaders. The Cult of the White Monkey to be exact. A cult that plans to overthrow the US government who has given in to criminals and they will take back control of the country and the government by force. Holy fuck, are you telling me that R.L. Stine predicted QAnon and January 6th in 1990? Well, this blog's peaked. We're not going to top this one. No amount of Oprahs can top this one.
So... yeah. That's why Mark and Cara's parents aren't working in computers. They move from town to town to start up new chapters of the cult. It's also why they disappear for long periods of time. Because they're running the cult. Gena's dad is there as is Mr. Marcus. Turns out this runs pretty deep. But Mr. Marcus says that Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs betrayed them, and their punishment is death. Just as Mr. Burroughs is about to get his throat slit, Mark throws the ivory monkey he had on him at Mr. Marcus. And that's enough time for Mr. Burroughs to escape and point his gun at Mr. Marcus, because the truth is that Mark and Cara's parents aren't computer workers or cult leaders. They're the FBI. R.L. STINE, STAY OF THE WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!
So, yeah. The parents are FBI agents who have been tracking this cult the entire time. Dr. Rawlings tells them that he tried his best to keep the cult from going after their kids. He was a part of the cult, but he didn't know that this was literally a front to stockpile weapons and overthrow the country. He just thought it was a neat druid rave or something, I guess. Oh, and Roger was also an FBI agent, but he's also still dead. We learn that Farraday was a crooked cop that Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs had arrested on extortion charges.
The parents apologize to Mark and Cara and mention that technically they did work for Cranford, but to get intel on Marcus and the cult. But when they went too deep, they were caught and trapped in Marcus' basement for three days. All seemed lost until Dr. Rawlings managed to save them. But at least now their kids know the truth. The book ends as the Burroughs family begins to pack, ready to move yet again, when Gena shows up at the door and says her goodbyes as she's moving to Detroit to live with her mother. She leaves him with the monkey skull which isn't feeling cold for once.
So, yeah. That happened.
Missing is one of the more interesting Fear Street books I've read so far. And a lot of that actually does come with the mystery. Though, again, Stine makes things a bit too obvious in some places. Part of me guessed early on that there was something going on involving the FBI. Didn't take me long to figure out that Roger was an FBI agent. And the twist with the parents being agents as well comes as less of a shock, mainly as we get the mention early on that Cranford has ties to the FBI. As is the big cult reveal. Once we rhinestone monkeys came into effect, it was clear that the only road we're going is to full on cult. One that, in 2021, feels too similar to real world events. I only like it when I'm pretend scared. So we get one of the more off the rails books I've read so far. And, for the most part, I liked this one.
Mark and Cara are okay protagonists. Not the most deep. Cara's the more serious while Mark is the more moody of the two. And I do like the idea of focusing on both of them instead of just one. But it's very poorly handled. We jump from one narration to another so often that it becomes annoying. And it's not a case of different view per chapter. Sometimes Mark or Cara get two or three chapters before a switchover, sometimes just one. Again, if the book listed the POV at the start of a chapter, or went third person instead, I think it would have benefited and not felt so clunky.
What I appreciate from this book is its connectivity and feeling of making Fear Street feel more alive. As I said earlier, the little things like the urban legends and all of the callback characters makes the book series feel like its own world and each story within matters to the overall tale of this bizarre town. A town that, sure, just so happens to have a monkey face cult. It's something that definitely feels less a part of the books as time goes on, especially the further we leave Fear Street and focus elsewhere in Shadyside.
Overall, Missing is a stronger Fear Street book than most, but suffers in a lot of places. A rather uneven mystery and a sense of spinning in circles in the middle. And the narration concept is neat, but not handled well. And you can take or leave the ending, feeling it too random or not random enough for a way to end this book. But, at least I don't leave a story about people disappearing having to talk about a difficult subject and feeling weird afterword. So, Stine's got that over Pike, I guess. In the end, a solid recommend, but is in dire need of a polish. Missing gets a B.
It Was Acceptable in the 90s: Swatch, Bozo the Clown references, Star Trek: The Next Generation being new, Star Trek Novels, Walkman, Houses with a trellis or lattice, Dennis Quaid and Tom Cruise posters, teen sex symbol Dennis Quaid?, Cher references, Leave it to Beaver references, Grateful Dead T-shirts
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