SWEETEST DARKNESS

A teen psychic takes a mind-bending journey to save his town.

The Alvarado Hotel is calling to Quinn O’Brien, his best friend, June Pilsner, and his crush, Selena Garcia, in their dreams. This long-abandoned property was once the glamourous lifeblood of Gypsum, Texas (population 1,021), drawing in Hollywood starlets and directors. Quinn is trying to balance his growing feelings for Selena, grief over his grandmother’s death, and the looming foreclosure on his family’s land. As he tries to take on more fortunetelling clients to pay the bills, Quinn’s ventures into the darkness beyond become more and more dangerous. Something—or someone—is beckoning to him and his friends from the deep, asking to be freed. Lutz ably captures the desperation of adult problems being foisted onto young shoulders. As Quinn grapples with Gram’s death, he also faces the repercussions of his growing psychic gift, both from the supernatural and from his friends, who are growing concerned about his powers. The historical plotline and the journal entries threaded throughout the story are illuminating and entertaining. As the teens try to piece together what’s happening and save the day, horror fans will root for them to succeed while cringing at each false step they take. The evocatively remote setting will keep readers immersed in the moment. Quinn and June read white; Selena is cued Latine.

An imaginative supernatural thriller novel set in a small town you won’t soon forget.