Contemporary true-crime influences blended with off-beat supernatural elements in a mostly successful genre mashup.
The disappearance of a teen girl complicates the apparent resolution of an earlier crime.
Lucy Kline was certain she’d solved her identical twin sister’s murder two years ago, even though Louisa’s body was never located. When Lyra Franklin, who has “the same dark hair, the same brown eyes, even the same slightly crooked smile as Louisa” goes missing in their small town of Cedar Grove, it blows the case open again. Haunted by visits from her sister’s ghost as well as terrifying nightmares that seem to contain meaning, 17-year-old Lucy, who’s fond of using profanity, dives back into Louisa’s case—and investigates Lyra’s too. Making matters worse, annoying self-proclaimed forensic clairvoyant Mina Cayce, who made incorrect statements about Louisa’s case, is back. With help from neighbor Howie Lindquist (who, crucially, has a car) and virtual assistance from Professor Peter Lowenthal, a retired medieval studies professor, intrepid, Buffy-esque Lucy begins to delve into the supernatural in search of Louisa’s true fate, which seems to be tied to a being named Azazel from the world of necromancy. Lucy’s guilt over not stopping her sister from sneaking out the night she died adds a needed layer of emotional complexity, while the snappy pace and Lucy’s biting sarcasm offset the weight of frequent passages in Latin and multiple storylines and supporting cast members that detract from the central plot. Main characters read white.
Contemporary true-crime influences blended with off-beat supernatural elements in a mostly successful genre mashup. (Supernatural thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781250353122
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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