Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

Smantha Strong has carved out a nice little life for herself in the small town of Woodbrook.  She gets up, goes about her daily routines, mingles with her friends and other townsfolk, and generally enjoys the local vibes.  Which she has taken great care to preserve as she’s also a serial killer who takes great care to hide her big-town victims… well, you can probably guess where.  Samantha has only one rule when it comes to killing, though:  Don’t kill the locals!  So when one of them winds up brutally murdered with his corpse on display for the whole town to see, Samantha is going to have to figure out whodunit if she wants her precious little life to continue as it always has.

This series got a lot of buzz when it was originally serialized because creator Patrick Horvath did something that was both twisted and clever when it came to depicting Samantha’s world.  It’s entirely anthropomorphic with animals acting as humans, giving the whole endeavor a twisted child’s storybook vibe.  This was further driven home by Horvath’s incredible art which has a charming, timeless look to it which makes the gruesome murder scenes stand out all the more.  There’s also an incredible amount of detail to it that really draws you in and makes you anticipate what new weird, secret aspect of small-town life Horvath will decide to upend next.

If only that sensibility extended to the story itself.  While giving us a serial killer story that feels like Richard Scarry by way of Thomas Harris is certainly novel, the way the story plays out is anything but.  Samantha’s journey is remarkably straightforward and will be familiar to anyone who’s read this kind of story before.  They’ll also likely be able to spot the many inconsistencies that crop up when she finally deals with the real killer in a way that assumes the town’s forensics investigator is just terrible at their job.  This makes for a story that definitely has its charms, and establishes Horvath as a creator with talent, but also one where you hope that the creator puts more thought into the story next time to put it on the same level as his art.