Moondog FROM THE PUBLISHER
When a young woman disappears during an eclipse party, the townspeople nervously assume a marauding mountain lion has killed her. When her body is found, it bears the marks of an animal attack. But at the next full Moon, when a schoolteacher dies in the same way, fear becomes hysteria - is a vicious serial killer at work? Local resident and reclusive writer Cyrus "Moondog" Nygerski is struck with a deeper fear and is compelled to discover how the women really died. With Joe Acton, a companion new to the area, he finds details of the killings that do not fit the pattern - and some that fit a more ominous one. And what he comes up with, laid out quite logically and frighteningly, is that there is a werewolf living among the residents of Julian.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Mystery and horror are combined with aplomb in this well-paced debut. The first three bodies found in a remote Californian town are women's, ripped apart and abandoned. Only one man, local recluse and enigmatic columnist Cyrus ``Moondog'' Nygerski, notices the similarities in the killings, particularly that the moon was full on the nights of the murders. No one except a recent parolee working nights at a local diner takes Moondog seriously until the fourth killing suddenly has townspeople eating garlic, wearing crosses and loading silver bullets into their pistols. Garfield endows all of his suspects with wolfish mannerisms-teeth grow long and pointy, sleepless nights are legion, body hair is rampant-and gives none a half-decent alibi. The ending is thoughtful, and the subdued prose adds a lot of credibility to the tale. (Mar.)
Children's Literature
It is 1989, and something violently strange is happening in the hills surrounding the town of Julian, California. In consecutive months, and just in time for the tourist season, gruesome murder and the full moon have gone hand in hand. Joe Acton, trying to make a fresh start after doing a year for burglary, and Cyrus "Moondog" Nygerski, an ex-minor leaguer turned town- recluse, are just about the only villagers who believe they might be dealing with a werewolf. Together, Joe and Moondog try to warn townspeople and to discover the identity of the werewolf. The author manages a large cast of characters with aplomb, successfully weaving in subplots involving drug abuse, relationships and the town's water crisis. This is the first offering in Garfield's highly entertaining "Moondog" trilogy. 2001 (orig. 1995), Aladdin/Simon and Schuster, $5.99 and $4.39. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Christopher Moning
KLIATT
The first in a trilogy about a werewolf residing outside a small San Diego County mountain town, this lightweight horror tale examines the seamier sides of small town politics and unofficial power. Cyrus "Moondog" Nygerski keeps largely to himself in his isolated but well-appointed cabin, making a living as a freelance writer. Among his few friends is the editor of Julian's weekly newspaper, a man who seems to be married more to journalism than to his frustrated wife. These characters are reported upon to us by a new arrival in town, the only character who fails to ring true in Garfield's expansive and peculiar stable: Joe Acton is an uneducated parolee who comes to town a stranger and quickly gets himself hired by the weekly paper as a reporter for such important affairs as the water board meetings. Through his association with the paper, he meets and is befriended by Moondog Nygerski, and comes to see that the horrific string of local monthly murders might be connected to a werewolf, as Moondog insists they must be. Less clever than its sequel Room 13 (reviewed below), this carries, nonetheless, some breath-catching surprises as identities and dangers are revealed. The third book in the series, Tartabull's Throw (reviewed in KLIATT in May 2001), is actually a prequel to Moondog, providing background on Cyrus. KLIATT Codes: S—Recommended for senior high school students. 1995, Simon & Schuster, Aladdin, 278p., $5.99. Ages 16 to 18. Reviewer: Francisca Goldsmith; Teen Svcs., Berkeley P.L., Berkeley, CA , September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)
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