Screaming Dreams / March 2010
Reviewed by: Martel Sardina

Yuppieville.  Now why would anyone want to live in a place like that? 

That’s exactly what Frank is thinking when his wife, Joannie, proposes the idea of leaving Los Angeles for a quiet suburban life in Youngesville, Nevada. Frank is not quite ready to give up city living. But Joannie’s biological clock is ticking and there’s no way she’s going to raise a baby in a neighborhood rife with gang shootings and crime.

Eventually Frank gives in. Joannie has no trouble making the transition and figuring out a way to fit in.  For the first time, she seems genuinely happy. Frank, on the other hand, isn’t. After a strange encounter with his new neighbor, Leonora, Frank’s left wondering what kind of person she really is. Was her come-on some kind of a test? How will he tell Joannie about it? Or would telling her be a big mistake?

While Joannie becomes more entrenched in their new life, Frank sees more and more that he dislikes. Youngesville and its residents are too perfect. And Frank knows that Utopia doesn’t exist. He enlists his brother to help research the history of Youngesville, to find out what is really going on in town.

Richards does a wonderful job of creating conflict, tension and suspense as Frank struggles to find the answers he’s looking for. Youngesville is a creepy place, inhabited by equally creepy people. But what makes them scary is the doubt and the illusion of normalcy. Are there monsters hiding in plain sight? Or is Frank just paranoid?

Yuppieville is full of surprises. It’s not Stepford, Connecticut or Twin Peaks, Washington. But if you liked either of those fictional places, a trip to Youngesville, Nevada might be up your alley. Stay as long as you dare.

Purchase Yuppieville by Tony Richards.