by M. Verano ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015
Somewhat slow pacing and a horror-movie ending may disappoint some, but here’s one not to read in the dark.
What’s worse than leaving LA behind for frozen, slushy Idaho? Moving into a gloomy, pest-ridden, and probably haunted mansion.
In this Blair Witch Project–style offering, high school junior Paige moves with her younger brother and her New Age–y mother, an aging actor. Mom wants to reinvent herself, and Paige wants to be supportive after her father’s infidelity and remarriage to a younger woman…but Idaho’s bleak. The house’s infested with flies and, to Paige’s particular horror, spiders. The Internet and phone reception are spotty, and Paige’s phone sends creepy messages on its own and delays or duplicates incoming messages regularly. She and her one friend, goth Chloe, investigate the house’s history and the activities of gorgeous, gay downstairs neighbor Raph, a college student on medical leave. As the haunting worsens, Mom insists they live in harmony with the spirits. After a shaman’s scared off, Raph brings in Montague Verano (the book’s putative editor, who presents Paige’s diary as documentary evidence), an expert in Psychiana, the cult that used to occupy the house. The truth behind the haunting’s stranger and more violent than anyone could guess. The tale unfolds in Paige’s online diary, written in a strong and natural-sounding teen voice. Secret messages in repeated entries and foggy black-and-white photos up the creep factor.
Somewhat slow pacing and a horror-movie ending may disappoint some, but here’s one not to read in the dark. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3069-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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