The Takers

By: Tanya Eby

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

It’s time for the Takers to give back—whether they want to or not.

Cottage Town is a bucolic community tucked away in the lush woods of Northern Michigan and surrounded by pristine lakes. There’s something sinister threaded beneath the surface of the town, wriggling under the earth. A strain of mycelium lurks, connecting the townspeople, and sprouting mushrooms that can heal the mind and body.

The only problem is those mushrooms need a living host to bloom.

Claire Evans just celebrated her 30th birthday with the news that her soon-to-be fiancé is already married. In one crushing moment, Claire loses her job, her relationship, and her future. With her funds rapidly depleting to pay for her Mom’s care on an Alzheimer’s unit, Claire decides to sell the abandoned family cottage in Cottage Town, change her life, and save her mom.

She moves to the cottage for the summer and meets her handsome neighbor, Will Fox, a mushroom cultivator, along with other curious members of the town. Mrs. Edelstein, the leader of the community, thinks Claire can save the people in Cottage Town, either through becoming part of the community, or for offering her life to the mushrooms that can rescue them all.

Through connecting with the wild unknown, giving into her passion with Will, and discovering the goblins that lurk beneath the surface of certain people, Claire will choose who she wants to be in order to change her life: a Giver, a Taker, or something else entirely.

Claire will find that good and evil, wonder and horror, beauty and brutality coexist in the woods—and all it takes to save mankind is for her to give up her humanity.

Filled with lush descriptions of woods, water, and mushrooms, THE TAKERS is a devious adventure into the dark and fertile unknown of what is possible, and the true price for saving the world.

©2025 Tanya Eby (P)2025 Tanya Eby

Truly satisfying cottage core horror.

I particularly liked the themes of an MC survivor finding her power and aligning with nature’s magic to exact justice. Tanya’s character voices are excellent. Deliciously creepy and dark.

Cozy Cottage Creepies

THE TAKERS is wholly entertaining in the most delicious of ways…and this comes from someone who had nightmares about 🍄🍄‍🟫as a child and still avoids them to this day!

Fun fungi for the win!

Eby writes and narrates colorful, multifaceted characters who, in this tale, must navigate the shroomy underside of Cottage Town. With humor and a touch of horror, THE TAKERS is an engaging listen that may cause spines to tingle and hairs to rise - in a comfy, cozy, cottage kinda way. 🍄🍄‍🟫