The Tale of Old Man Fischer
by Russell (Author)

Description:

Something is wrong in Shane’s neighborhood. As he unravels the mystery behind the animal disappearances–that have occurred over several decades–the signs lead him to the listless Old Man Fischer. One night, he and his mother visit the elderly man who then tells them a tale about his childhood and post-doctoral life at the university.

As he shares his life, he describes the opportunity to be on a spectacular new project in Central America. Along with his new wife, their objective is to catalogue new species in the canopies of the Costa Rican rainforest. However, the eruption of Mount Arenal shakes the country. Upon the demands of the university, Dr. Fischer must take Jillian and his team to explore a new region unearthed from the explosion. As wonder easily overwhelms him and the team, tragedy strikes quickly and leaves his wife in a catatonic state.

Over the next few days as more animals are disappearing, Shane laments over the man’s life in the rainforest and questions the event at the volcano. What are you hiding, Old Man Fischer? He finally asks himself. Shane knows the answers lie in the man’s house and brings his best friend for backup. In a roller coaster of an ending, Shane will discover Old Man Fischer’s secrets and uncover the mystery in his neighborhood after all these years…

Review: A boy I really cared about and the insane villain he’s pitted against!

“The Tale of Old Man Fischer” is the author’s first book. Since its publication, Russell has written several books in the “The Gavin Nolan Biography.” However, I was intrigued by the title of this book. Most of the story is told from the point of view of Shane, a twelve-year-old boy. A few parts are narrated by Doctor Fischer, an obsessed researcher who’s definitely gone too far in his pursuit of science.

I found Shane’s part of the story to be a poignant one. He’s dealing with so many difficult elements in his life. Having parents who are practically workaholics and a little sister who has a life threatening medical problem makes home life very difficult. Then there’s school and trying to protect his best friend from bullies. Shane’s a really good kid, and I was cheering him on throughout the book. However, when Shane finds himself investigating the mystery of missing animals in the neighborhood, tension and fear for his safety became an issue that kept me turning pages. Like Shane, I had to learn what was going on. That’s when I found out what the creepy, disturbed neighbor, namely old man Fischer, is secretly doing and keeping in his basement.

I applaud Russell for writing about Shane in a way that really made me care about the character. The caring that I felt escalated as the story unfolds, and Shane faces a madness and cruelty no child or adult should have to face. Great story, Russell! Maybe you’ll write another one about the adult that Shane becomes!

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Check out Russell’s website and his Twitter page.