CAVE-IN

Geological disaster spurred by a corrupt logging operation threatens a small town that’s haunted by a past tragedy.

Even after a generation, the small Vancouver Island town of Tass is feeling the effects of the Big One, a sinkhole that swallowed an entire church full of people. No bodies were ever recovered. Sixteen-year-old Hudson has always delighted in exploring the area’s sprawling cave systems, but he’s recently become increasingly worried about the looming prospect of a repeat catastrophe. A timber company’s careless logging and road building are causing unpredictable changes in the patterns of subterranean water flow, the community center’s foundations are cracking, and the local mayor seems to be in the pocket of the company’s smooth-talking executive. Hudson’s worries turn out to be well founded as events and escalating tensions in town lead to a violent and terrifying climax. Though Hudson serves mainly as a mouthpiece and a model for safe caving practices, Withers does set him up for several heroic rescues. His developing relationships with an estranged former bestie turned bully and two rival girls from school add some personal heft. The author’s extensive background research is evident in the narrative, which is loaded with infodumps on cave formations and ecology, specific techniques involved in cave exploration, and the causes and dangers of sinkholes. Names and other oblique hints suggest that the cast may not be entirely white.

Narrow going plot-wise, but readers will come away better informed about environmental concerns.