Rene Gutteridge Boo Hiss

Boo Hiss

Rene Gutteridge

WaterBrook, Sep 2005, $12.99, 352 pp.

ISBN: 1400071437

Though everyone relishes the sudden appearance of a gourmet coffee shop, the residents of Skary, Illinois, are in an uproar when they wake up to find a brand new soccer complex constructed overnight in a vacant lot. However, the townsfolk go berserk when teenager Dustin tells everyone at a meeting that his two headed Boa has escaped. He insists that they are harmless if fed right, but be careful especially with the assertive Bob; Fred is a pacifist in comparison.

As the locals pani,c seeing snakes everywhere, a pet shop owner explains that Boas eat once a week not everyday, although Dustin fed his two snakes with one stomach daily. In other words the serpent is a feeding machine that will soon run out of rodents to dine on, even as the people have personal problems to contend with, that has nothing to do with sharing a meal with a snake.

The latest Boo tale will thrill readers of the series, as everything seems out of control, except that the aide of Mayor Wallisworth Martin Blarney knows what is going on. He nervously asks community theater advocate, Lois on a date, while the sheriff turns jealous. Though the storyline seems too serpentine at times, fans will appreciate the eccentric, often screwball antics of the residents.