Wasps in the Ice Cream

Written by Tim McGregor

Narrated by Dan Lawson

Summer 1987: Mark Prewitt’s only priority is to avoid his dad’s new wife and waste time with his friends, but idle nights are the devil’s playground. When his friends decide to pull a cruel prank on the reclusive and strange Farrow sisters, Mark regrets caving in to peer pressure.

Wanting to make amends, Mark is drawn into the mysterious world of the Farrow girls, finding a kindred spirit in the middle sister, George. She is unlike anyone he’s ever known; a practicing witch who uses folk magic to protect her family. They bond over books, loneliness, and homemade spells. She even invites Mark to join a séance to contact her dead sister, who died under mysterious circumstances.

Keeping their relationship secret, Mark learns that living a double life in a town this small is impossible. When the secret is exposed, and his friends plot to punish the witch sisters for stealing one of their own, Mark is forced to choose between these two worlds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798368901190

Tim McGregor

Tim McGregor is a novelist and screenwriter behind three produced feature films, all of dubious quality. Although the last one did star Luke Perry. His first novel, Bad Wolf, is available as an ebook. Tim lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

Reviews for Wasps in the Ice Cream

[annaniko · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

More mystical and coking-of-age rather than horror but nonetheless a pleasant read

[d d · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good! Best novel I listened to in a while. Brings you back to your youth and all the different characters you grew up with.

[Sarah Gates Hester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! Great narration, and the characters were kids I'm pretty sure I knew in high school- for better or worse! I'm excited to read more of the authors work, and hoping for a sequel to this one!

[Sarah Bartz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story. McGregor is becoming a favorite. Definitely recommend.

[TheGayJimmyBuffett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down! Going to read the rest of McGregor's books now :)

[Heather · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I chose this book at random for a reading challenge for my book club. I was surprised at how invested I became in the two lead characters and how much I loved the plot.

The supernatural elements are not over the top and there’s a subtle sense of dread throughout; perfect for an easy and spooky read.

[Eedge Eeva · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

⭐⭐⭐
Trigger warning: hate and bullying
Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor, an audiobook narrated by Dan Lawson is a young adult drama about relationships, friendships, bullying, love and hate, acceptance and ignorance. I must say that I am not sure if I understood this book. It's not like I was not too fond of it but I struggled with the wrap-up. Usually, things happen one by one, and the ending gives a sort of wrap-up as a result but in this book, I felt that I missed this. Or, as I mentioned, I don't think I understood this book. Some parts were too silly to fit in this story.

Mark lives with his dad and step mum but none of them are close in this family. Mark has 2 best friends who are selfish and don't care about other's feelings and they are more than happy to do horrible things for the sake of doing them. Mark falls for George (the best way to describe is Wednesday from the Adams family) and no one can understand not even Mark. Things from there never will be the same again...

[Nina Quartuccio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's not a scary/supernatural story, but also not a bad story either. It's more like a mild ghost story. This was well written with strong characters, but this was seriously lacking in the scary department, even in the supernatural department. Maybe I would even consider this more in the YA genre. I really thought about the rating and started at 3 stars, but as I considered the story, I realized I shouldn't cut the stars because it was lacking horror/scary/supernatural aspects or even because it would be better labeled YA. It was good, nothing bad about it, it was just not what I was hoping for...so 4 stars for not a scary story.

[RichardKevinWilson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just an okay coming of age tale (kind of not the best one at that even) about a boy; Mark Prewett in 1987 who takes a summer job at his locally private owned ice cream shop and finds out about the Farrow sisters that live in their small town's big old scary house, which every town has. Could the rumors be true that they are witches from a long time ago? What happened to 'George' Georgia's (the middle sister) sister and how was she killed?

Only Mark and his friends know.

This story was so quickly rushed that all it needed was to be a horror story, which is something it could have been very easily if it had been written better, and the characters needed to be fleshed out more so we could have cared more about the 3 mysterious sisters and the house that they lived in. Cannot recommend this story with no suprises, OR any horror in it. Sorry.

2.5 ehs