Undemanding suspense.
Three teens become trapped by a terrifying cult when they stumble into a strange town after breaking down in a remote area.
Seventeen-year-old Dee, her boyfriend, Luke, and his brother, Mike, on their way to a concert, take a back road to save time and run out of gas. They hike to the nearest town but find it apparently deserted, with a siren sounding. The cemetery has only wooden crosses to mark graves, and all the houses and gardens look identical. They enter an empty house and shelter there from a sudden snowstorm. There, as in all the other houses, the only decorations are giant crosses on the walls. The next day, they meet Joseph, a boy their age who confirms that the town is controlled by his father, the cult’s leader, and who promises to help them. But his madman father, Elijah, discovers them, natch. Dee, eventually separated from Luke and Mike, must try to find the others and escape, with Elijah constantly threatening murder unless Dee complies with his wishes. Leaver and Currie set the scene effectively if not particularly originally and keep tension high. The cult never really seems credible, though, and Elijah’s villainy is thoroughly over-the-top. Nevertheless, readers who don’t probe hard should find Dee a sympathetic companion for the duration.
Undemanding suspense. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4080-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Bloody brilliant!
A girl who can see ghosts takes on a deadly challenge.
Everyone knows the tale: Wealthy Count Bastien Saphir, aka Monsieur Le Bleu, married and murdered three unsuspecting women before the fourth got away. They say Le Bleu was still laughing as his last wife’s brothers cut off his head. A century later, Mallory Fontaine gives tours of House Saphir and knows more than anyone about the family and their history. Count Armand Saphir, heir to the estate, seeks out Mallory and her elder sister, Anaïs, to assist at the family’s country estate, where Le Bleu’s ghost has returned to threaten the inhabitants. Armand hopes that the Fontaine family’s reputation as gifted witches means they can aid in this exorcism. Unfortunately, the sisters aren’t entirely truthful about their magical talents; their mother was renowned for her elixirs and talismans, but Mallory and Anaïs don’t possess her powers and make a living selling fake charms and spells. Still, Mallory agrees, betting on her legitimate ability to talk to ghosts and her affinity with the macabre. But as the gory sacrifices add up, it seems there may be more than a ghost that’s haunting the estate. Meyer takes the classic French folktale “Bluebeard” and expertly sprinkles in ghosts and otherworldly creatures to create an eerie tale with a side of steamy romance. The characters are full-bodied, possessing either winsome or terrifying auras, while the setting beautifully conveys a bewitching ambiance. Mallory and Armand present white.
Bloody brilliant! (guide to monsters) (Supernatural mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250320957
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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