A chilling, bloody ghost story that resonates.
A Japanese ghost tries to fight an evil spirit that haunts a 15-year-old boy in this strange, Stephen King–like horror story.
Okiku was brutally murdered 300 years ago at age 16 and has roamed the world ever since, killing child murderers. Murderers unwittingly carry the ghosts of those they have killed on their backs, making them easy for Okiku to spot. She’s chasing down a particularly nasty serial killer when she encounters Tarquin, the son of an American man and a Japanese woman. Now institutionalized, Tarquin’s mother inscribed strange tattoos on the boy, which act as seals to imprison the evil ghost inside him. The family travels to Japan after Tarquin’s captive spirit horribly murders his mother so they can scatter the dead woman’s ashes at a shrine. There, they meet some women who can try to free Tarquin from his spirit tormentor, but exorcisms aren’t easy. Chupeco bases her modern horror story on an old Japanese folk tale about a vengeful spirit named Okiku. She writes in Okiku’s formal, ghostly voice, requiring readers to piece together strange episodes that introduce not only Okiku, but also Tarquin and his family, only slowly revealing the severity of the danger Tarquin faces. They come together eventually to reveal the full story and, with their opacity, contribute to the book’s slowly mounting suspense.
A chilling, bloody ghost story that resonates. (Paranormal suspense. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-9218-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
An affecting supernatural mystery with a pair of brave protagonists.
The disappearance of a child unveils what lies hiding in the woods at the edge of a small town.
There are all sorts of stories about Picnic, Illinois, but it’s not until her toddler cousin, Madison, goes missing from her crib one night that 15-year-old Luce starts to believe them—and especially when she notices a pair of glowing, wolflike eyes through the windows of her house. To everybody’s relief, Madison is returned to her crib, seemingly safe and sound, soon after she vanished, but Luce and the child’s mother notice discomfiting differences in the 2-year-old. And yet, no one else seems to give credence to their concerns. Luce, prompted by a teacher, starts to research Picnic’s history and the many disappearances—and sudden reappearances—of baby girls, going back decades. Meanwhile, deep in the woods, Fanya, who narrates alternating chapters, tends to the baby girl and prepares for the ritual to welcome her as part of her pack when the full moon comes. As Luce’s and Fanya’s stories converge, so do past and present in Lund’s atmospheric novel. The story borrows elements from South Slavic lore about women who turn into animals to tell an affecting tale about small-town secrets, wronged people, and the bravery of two girls bent on getting to the truth in order to save lives. All characters are assumed White.
An affecting supernatural mystery with a pair of brave protagonists. (Paranormal thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35109-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A small-town nightmare unfolds in this terrifying tale.
“Doubtful, Illinois, was a glue trap. People sometimes came in, but they very rarely left.”
Abby and friends Rhys, Connor, and Riya have rules to keep themselves safe and avoid getting taken by the Stitcher. The serial killer preys on people in this former mining town, stitching victims’ body parts together with red thread. The four teenagers, who call themselves the Jackrabbits, keep tabs on the Stitcher’s activities, but the Doubtful police seem unable or unwilling to solve the case. Officer Thompson, a new arrival from New York City seeking a quieter place after years of policing in the big city, is trying to learn more about the town. His teenage daughter, Jen, struggles to believe that the Jackrabbits’ warnings are true—but things are getting worse in Doubtful. Technology is failing, and the Jackrabbits are having nightmares—signs that the Stitcher is gearing up to take another victim. In this page-turning horror story, everyone is at risk of falling into the Stitcher’s clutches, no matter how careful they are. The rural Midwestern setting may seem familiar, but the evil that haunts Doubtful permeates the pages. Creepy imagery offsets scenes of amateur detective work. First-person chapters tell stories of those affected by the Stitcher; the rest follow the teen protagonists in the third person. Most characters read white; Riya is cued South Asian. Final art not seen.
A small-town nightmare unfolds in this terrifying tale. (Paranormal horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781728278940
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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