The Monsters of Templeton is an ambitious debut for Lauren Groff. At the start of the novel, Wilhelmina "Willie" Upton returns to her hometown of Templeton, NY from an Alaskan archaeological dig following an affair with her married professor.

At home, Willie's former-Hippie mother, Vi, has found religion and tells Willie that she lied; Willie's father wasn't one of three possible men in the commune where she lived before moving to Templeton, where she is directly descended from the founder. Her real father actually lives in Templeton, too, and it's up to Willie to determine who he is.

Vi gives Willie several clues (one being that her father is also a Temple) and sends her off on a search - spanning decades and even centuries - to find her real father.

Willie goes through the family tree, starting with her most recent descendants and working her way backwards, trying to determine the point at which her father and mother's ancestors crossed. She studies old documents and letters, going back as far as Marmaduke Temple, the founder of Templeton, and his novelist son, Jacob Franklin Temple. (Author Lauren Groff is originally from Cooperstown, NY, home of James Fenimore Cooper. Templeton, NY is largely based on Cooperstown).

The most interesting document is one labeled "Contents disturbing and painful." The correspondence between the two women, Cinnamon and Charlotte, appears benign at first, but eventually becomes very dark. Small plot twists such as this keep The Monsters of Templeton intriguing, despite the genealogical theme that would perhaps bore some.

Groff creates several interesting plot points that she underdevelops, for example Glimmey, the deceased monster in the Lake, and at times overfills her novel with unnecessary characters (some of whom she borrowed from the works of James Fenimore Cooper) and historical documents. However, in the end, her creation of Templeton and its inhabitants is inventive and engaging. The Monsters of Templeton defies categorization, as it is part mystery, part ghost story, part historical fiction and all quirky and unique.

- Ashley