NNtG: Shivers #11: Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?

It's time once more to venture into the merry madness that is Shivers. I always love covering them because they always offer a real roll of the dice as to what exactly you're going to get. Sometimes a very basic horror story, sometimes absolute balls to the wall insanity. And we have cannibals to talk about this time. We don't have enough cannibal stories to cover so I'm all for it. It's time to Guess Who's Coming For Dinner? Spoiler: It's not Sidney Poitier or Ashton Kutcher.

Oh yeah, this cover would have freaked me out. Yeah, no skeleton picnics, but there is still an extremely unsettling feeling to this cover that  really works in its favor. You'd notice the reflection of the shocked kid and not notice the unsettling person behind the platter, knife behind their back, face shrouded in shadowy darkness all while some strange holy light shines behind them. A warped and alien vibe surrounding everything. For what this story has to sell, it does an incredible job. 

Josh Jeffers, jock and cool kid extraordinaire, is always noticing the gangly and weird kid Michael Sturdevant. See, Michael's got not friends and seems very antisocial. Though Josh notes that any time Michael did have friends, they vanished soon after, to which Josh thinks must be on account of Michael having a very bland personality overall. Totally couldn't be that they went to the Sturdevant household and never returned like maybe Michael's family are a bunch of cannibals or something? Why the very idea! But Josh is watching as Michael plays chess by himself, and it turns out that he's REALLY into chess. More so than his busy parents and wild sister. So, seeing a chance to buddy buddy with a budding Bobby Fischer, he talks with Michael for a bit about the game. Michael warms up a bit and mentions that he's the only one who plays chess in his family. Especially not his "blood-thirsty" sister Gladys.

They get a long a bit more, with Michael helping out Josh with his geometry, which is good since Josh's math teacher, the aptly named "Wicked Warner", is harsh on it. But it all works out and Josh gets an A-, which pleases his parents. Josh's sister Megan notes that Josh is hanging out with Michael Sturdevant and that his sister Gladys is scary. So scary the rest of her class is afraid of her. And Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers scold MEGAN? Th-they actually are on the older sibling's side for once? I mean Megan's in the right more, but... RATIONAL PARENTS!?!? I think I just experienced some sort of odd nirvana. I... I don't know how to feel just now. Then they compliment each other, the parents are fine with Josh and Michael being friends and bring up how cliche it is for someone to announce they're leaving when Megan brings up how a former friend of Gladys', Bessie Butler, just up and disappeared one day without a trace.

But the talk of Gladys' friends vanishing does bother Josh enough to consider that something must be up. He remembers another kid, Billy Johns, who was a friend of Michael's, who also vanished without a trace. Could there be some sort of connection? We're 18 pages deep so far so it'll be a while for two and two to become four. The next day while playing chess again with Michael, Josh gets scared by his friends Chet Carter (Quite a bit of alliteration in this one) and Danny Sims who are a bit caught off guard by their jock friend engaging in chess with meek Michael. Suddenly, a chubby little girl in pigtails, "Dog-kicking" boots and an angry expression comes over to Michael. This would be our Gladys, who Josh notes is licking her lips a lot. She chastises Michael for the eating of a cupcake. Which is an issue for some yet-to-be revealed reason. Good odds the reason isn't diabetes. Also this is a Jack Sprat thing, huh?  

Josh invites Michael over for pizza and Michael seems really keen on it, though mainly for veggie pizza for some "we're not quite there yet" reason. He starts to tell Josh about what's going on at his place when Josh's mother arrives with the pizzas to end this part of the story. The next day, Mrs. Warner embarrasses Josh for being the jock who's good at algebra, then starts talking about some vague dinner she's going to. Michael reveals that it's his place that Mrs. Warner is going to, and tries to get Josh to help stop her from going when Gladys shows up and sees what Mrs. Warner looks like. Michael says that Gladys can't do anything in the cafeteria which is an odd thing to say, so Josh decides to invite Mrs. Warner and the Sturdevants to his place, to which Michael says that's a DEFINITE no-no. Because we've been made aware of Gladys, but not whatever the hell Michael's folks are like. But Josh thinks Danny and Chet will be useful, much to Michael's chagrin.

But this is now the beginning of Josh's suspicions that something isn't right about the Sturdevants, particularly in how Gladys was reacting to Mrs. Warner. Enough for him to start suspecting that the Sturdevants could be cannibals and Mrs. Warner is their next meal. Josh, Chet and Danny ditch soccer practice and check the school, seeing that Mrs. Warner is still in the class grading papers. Suddenly, a fat short shadowy figure shows up and throws a boot through the window. And being a case of horrible timing, the boys get blamed for it. Josh spots Gladys in the classroom with the boot watching as the boys try to get Mrs. Warner to help them with homework. It doesn't work, but they end up running into Mrs. Sturdevant, described as short and stocky wearing spiky heels. She's a bit displeased at how thin Mrs. Warner is, but Josh, oh he looks edible.

The Sturdevants and Mrs. Warner leave in a van with the kids about to chase them, only Josh doesn't know where the Sturdevants live, and Chet and Danny are believing this all may have been some big yet disturbing misunderstanding. Josh tries calling the only Sturdevant in the phone book, but not the right family. He then finds a note from Michael thanking him for trying and for at least standing up to Gladys, but it's too late. So that seems bad enough, but Mrs. Jeffers makes it worse for Josh by saying that since they're going to a high school reunion, that Josh should go to the Sturdevant house for the night. He tries Chet and Danny, but they're going to see Five Star Wrestling. Oh boy will Andy Organ be facing off against Curtis Angel or Harvee Dee? There's my one per blog!

 Later that night, Josh gets a call from Michael. Mrs. Warner's fine for now, but he needs Josh's help to save her before IT happens, which we haven't said what IT is yet, but we're almost there. Oh, and this totally doesn't feel like, you know, a trap or nothing. Josh meets with Michael and while he still doesn't say WHAT's going on, he says they might have a chance to save Mrs. Warner before IT goes down. Also Megan and her friend Heidi are also staying at the Sturdevants, so collateral damage. They arrive at the Sturdevant house which is on a strange street and looks rather ramshackle. They start to tell the girls about what's up when Gladys shows up. Megan and Heidi stay outside while Michael warns them about the carriage house in the backyard.

Mrs. Sturdevant opens the door and invites Josh in. Josh notes a bunch of photos on the wall, including one of Billy Johns, Michael's former friend. Michael suggests they go to his room to check on Megan and Heidi outside and work on saving Mrs. Warner. After some time playing chess, they notice the girls are missing. They check Gladys' room, but only Gladys and some dolls are in there. But again Josh spots a photo in the room, this time of Bessie Butler. So it's almost like they take trophy photos of their victims. As Michael goes to look for Heidi and Megan, Josh ends up talking with Mrs. Sturdevant who is very interested in his blood type. As he exits the room however, he sees they have a photo of him as well from a year prior. So now it's clicking in Josh's head. This may have all been a trap from the beginning with Michael making sure Josh would be their next victim.

Josh then remembers the carriage house and runs inside. He finds Heidi who tells him that Michael and Megan are in the cellar below. He finds Mrs. Warner in a Cage and Michael trying to pick it with one of Megan's barrettes. As this all goes down, Gladys nails Josh with her boot. Michael comes to with Heidi and Megan, Mrs. Warner now free and Michael managing to lock Gladys in the cage. They all exit and head out, just as Mrs. Sturdevant yells out that it's time for dinner. 

Yeah, this is another Shivers I really liked. Perhaps in my top tier at this point. Why? Well, I like how the book builds the story up. How Michael sets up how depraved and dangerous his family is, how Josh has these worries and everything ultimately builds up to a tense (albeit rushed in the end) finale in the carriage house. And even with the rushed outcome, it doesn't feel like a letdown. We never get any scenes of the Sturdevants actually being cannibals but everything we get still works. The unsettling vibe from both Gladys and Mrs. Sturdevant, the photos of their victims on the walls like sick trophies, the notion that they have been after Josh for a long time, seeing him as the next great meal for them. It all plays extremely well, especially for my wheelhouse. 

What I'm starting to get from a lot of Shivers protagonists is the idea that they're more layered than you'd normally get from these stories and Josh is no exception. The jock kid who is actually pretty smart, likes Chess and does seem like a good kid, first finding pity in Michael, then becoming his friend throughout this entire ordeal. Ditto for Michael who is a sympathetic character. Clearly the only one of his family who isn't into the cannibalistic lifestyle but is also easily overpowered most of the time to do their bidding. I like what we get of Mrs. Sturdevant and Gladys. They feel like actual threats, especially Gladys and her boots. It's also a case where a character being fat is important for the horror and the tension. If it were Stine, it would just be a lame descriptor, or her being fat would a reason for her to be the murderer out of jealousy of her thin friends. Megan and Heidi exist mostly, being more important for the climax while Chet and Danny win the Superfluous Clay award for the book.

So yeah, I've been on a roll with Shivers lately, huh? While I don't cover them as much as other books for the blog, usually when I do cover them, I end mostly satisfied. And this is another case of being very satisfied. With horror tension that actually works, a solid climax, likable characters and understated yet effective horror, this is another one for the win column. Definitely shouldn't take too long on another Shivers blog. But then again, don't want to spoil my appetite. Guess Who's Coming For Dinner? gets an A+