Library Haul

I have no regrets about this mini haul, that is the joy of the library! I've patiently waited my turn for Edison's Ghost since it was published. As for the others, I got a little hold excited with some graphic novels. I still have quite a few sitting in limbo either waiting to arrive at the library or just waiting my turn. 

So now it's time for the age-old joke that, my weekend is officially booked. Well, at least it will after I run some errands. Because sadly there are always errands on my days off and laundry. Though I have yet to learn where there is always laundry. I wear the same thing to work every single day. Still! I'm excited to stretch out in the sun and read these! Couple of them look like gems!

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

From veteran true crime master Harold Schechter comes a unique look into the history of crime told through the dark objects left behind. The false teeth of a female serial killer from 1908, the cut-and-paste confession of the Black Dahlia killer, the newly cracked cipher of the Zodiac killer, the shotgun used in the Clutter family murders, which were made famous by Truman Capote's true crime classic In Cold Blood —these are more than simple artifacts that once belonged to notorious murderers. They are objets of fascination to the legion of true crime obsessives around the world. And not merely for fleeting dark thrills, but because they represent a way to better understand those who we typically label monsters in lieu of learning how they actually became one.

In Murderabilia, veteran true crime writer Harold Schechter presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning two centuries (1808–2014), with accompanying stories of various lengths. A visual and literary journey, it presents a history unlike any previously told in the true crime genre, one that speaks to the dark fascination of true crime fans while also presenting a larger historical timeline of how and why we continue to be captivated by the most sensational crimes and killers among us.

HAPPY READING!!

Blood Stained Teeth Vol 2 - Review

Author: Christian Ward

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

This will be a shorter review than most. Not quite a mini review, but not a full-on either. 

I do like this is only a duology. This isn't a story that needs to be drug out into multiple volumes. Everything was moving pretty quickly in Drip Feed, and I was happy with how it all wrapped up. The good guys got a sort of win. The bad guys are back on the drawing board.

How we left with Atticus himself was a letdown, and honestly, it felt wrong. I don't want to spoil it. But, I was really annoyed with how the ended his part of the story. I understand that he's not a good guy, and would never go with the Doctor and Mx. Starr.

But, really my dudes. Really?! So annoyed. It felt out of character for him.

On a positive note, the artwork on this grew on me through this volume. It definitely fits the noir theme, but it always takes my brain a few pages to get used to it. This time it took less.

As a whole, this was a fun story that would make a fun mini-series. I'm not sure I'll remember much about this series in a few weeks. But, it was a fun read. I'm glad my library dashboard suggested it to me.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

A huge thank you to Quirk Books for the surprise book mail! Especially when it's as amazing as what I pulled out of the mailbox this week! These look absolutely adorable, and I can't wait to send them off to the summer camp where one of my friends works every summer. The kids are going to absolutely adore both of these books! 

Not only do these stories sound absolutely adorable. There are cute little experiments inside each book. I haven't done a deep dive into them yet, but that all look easy to do at-home experiments. Which little me would have loved. I grew up with Billy Nye the Science Guy and Beakman's World. I always stacked my science classes from middle school until I graduated college.

While I never went into science full-time. Technically what I do is kitchen sciences. It took one loved one and combined it with another. So I'm really excited to jump into these! 

HAPPY READING!!

Last Act - Review

Author: Christopher Pike

Genre: Horror/ Young Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 226

When I was younger, in middle school ages, Christopher Pike was one of my favorite authors. Now of course that meant he wasn't a part of my small town's accelerated reader program, but every summer I would devour every Pike our local library had. Now as an adult and seeing how many books this man has written I realize wasn't really a lot because I've discovered so many I'd never heard of before, including Last Act. That was one of the reasons I wanted to go back and start reading Pike's again, and the fact I wanted to remember if some of the ones that still lived rent-free in my head were as gruesome as I remember. 

I will say that early Pike and late 90's Pike (which I read the most of) are two different kinds of story. Honestly, I like them both. I like this less horror and more murder mystery. It was softer in tone and not super fast-paced either, though it was far from a sleepy mystery either. Last Act also didn't needs the gore or the usual horror tropes to work. It's a multiple-layer story with three stories being told at the time: Melanie's point of view of the murder she was set up for, what happened the summer before she even arrived in Careville, and the big double cross.

However, it all works together because every piece fits together so perfectly, almost like a chain reaction. Because this happened and this story was told, it caused this to happen, and then the perfect patsy arrived, and the entire evil plan came together. And, from the second the murder happened I was like, this person did it. I don't know what, but I swear it was this character. Then as Melanie starts to investigate I was like, maybe it was this person. Oh, what about this person.

I fell for the distraction. And, I kind of secretly wanted to be a little bit like Scream for reasons. 

As a main character, I liked Melanie well enough. Actually, I honestly liked most of the characters for what they were meant to be. As a kind of Final Girl, Melanie was a solid character, determined, smart, and not backing down. As a leading female character in the 80s and 90s thriller fiction, I liked her. All of the characters were a bit two-dimensional, but I don't think it pulled from the story, and the plot is solid enough you don't really notice they each character is kind of beige. 

What I find, and maybe it's because of my age now as I read these 'teen thrillers' is would parents really just be left alone like this, all the time. Also, who just goes back to school after becoming the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Especially in small towns USA where gossip is better than gold because ain't no one got anything better to do. Also, who goes back to school and doesn't face backlash from the students. My small town would never. In fact, I could see our school board informing Melanie's father that it would be best if she didn't return until all of this was settled. 

Also, Melanie's lawyer was garbage. I wanted to throat-punch her.

 I'm also not overly fond of that happy ending, for the type of story that is Last Act it makes sense. Melanie deserved a happy ending and that sort of looks like what she was going to get. However, I hate epilogues. I don't know why, I cannot give you a rational explanation for this. I get it, with stories like this it's a jump forward to where are they now, and how did they survive. But, I hated how Last Act set it up. It felt like it was needed. I feel like it could have just been another chapter with a time jump. But I guess it was a full-circle thing, ending the story where it really started. Still, I almost didn't read it because I don't feel it really adds must to the story. Other than to explain how Melanie got saved at the end. Which we could have just gotten instead of a time jump. But, I'm being picky.

All-in-all a solid read. Not my favorite Christopher Pike, but it was still decent. I a fun idea, one I think would make a good mini-series. Of course, I think most of his books would make a solid mini-series. They tend just to be weird, and Last Act was no exception to that. 

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.

But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has.

Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since.

After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?

Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . .

Why I'm Waiting: Because this sounds like a wild ride!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

A decade-by-decade cookbook that highlights the best (and a few of the worst) baking recipes from the 20th century

Friends of baking, are you sick and tired of making the same recipes again and again? Then look no further than this baking blast from the past, as B. Dylan Hollis highlights the most unique tasty treats of yesteryear.

Travel back in time on a delicious decade-by-decade jaunt as Dylan shows you how to bake vintage forgotten greats. With a big pinch of fun and a full cup of humor, you’ll be baking everything from Chocolate Potato Cake from the 1910s to Avocado Pie from the 1960s.

Dylan has baked hundreds of recipes from countless antique cookbooks and selected only the best for this bake book, sharing the shining stars from each decade. And because some of the recipes Dylan shares on his wildly popular social media channels are spectacular failures, he’s thrown in a few of the most disastrously strange recipes for you to try if you dare.

A few of Dylan’s favorites that are going to have you licking your lips and begging for more

●      1900s Cornflake Macaroons

●      1910s ANZAC Biscuits

●      1930s Peanut Butter Bread

●      1940s Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake

●      1950s Tomato Soup Cake

●      1970s Potato Chip Cookies

Baking Yesteryear contains 101 expertly curated recipes that will take you on a delicious journey through the past. With a larger-than-life personality and comedic puns galore, baking with Dylan never gets old. We’ll leave that to the recipes.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

Twelve-year-old Hazel Woods has always had an unusual knack for sleuthing. Some may call it snooping, but all she really wants is to solve mysteries around town. So, when she not-so-accidentally overhears her brother Den planning to sneak into the cemetery at night for an epic game of hide-and-seek, she decides to secretly tag along. This seems like the perfect opportunity to investigate the claims that the cemetery is haunted.

But the moment the game ends, Hazel realizes something is very, very wrong. From her hiding spot in the bushes, she overhears that her brother’s best friend, Everett, is missing. Everyone else was found by the seeker but there’s no sign of Everett anywhere. It’s as if he just . . . vanished

Hazel and Den are determined to find Everett before it’s too late. But as they begin to unravel the terrifying clues that started appearing since that night in the graveyard–eerie whispers that sound like someone counting, the intermittent smell of smoke, and the cold, lost presence that follows them everywhere, she’s not sure what they are dealing with. But Everett needs more than search parties and scent-tracking dogs to find him, especially if his disappearance is tied to the history of the cemetery, and the lost, century-old spirits that might still be trapped there.

HAPPY READING!!

Reading BINGO Update

I'm kind of freaking out over this. Outside of 2020 when I was out of work for four-ish months, this is the earliest I've nearly cleared my Reading BINGO board! Now I've gotten close before, last year I was only four squares away, but I never managed to clear them. But, but, but, I'm now sitting five squares away and I'm currently about halfway through a book that'll clear my Birth Year square! So by the end of the month, the end of July, I'll be where I ended last year's board!

The reason I'm freaking out is that I actually have books set for almost all of the squares I have left. Books that have been sitting on my TBR for at least a year, if not longer. Because I cannot remember when I added Nobody Knows But You. I tend to have that problem a lot. I have a lot of books. Which is less of a problem and just more of a fact, but not the point I'm making. I'm not even sure I have a point. I'm just super excited.

My friends and I have been doing this challenge for maybe six years, and none of us has managed to ever clear a board before. Honestly, it's my goal this year to actually do it for the first time. That would be aces! 

The Plan:

Birth Year: Last Act (Current Read)

Unreliable Narrator: Nobody Knows But You 

Around a Holiday: Dark Harvest

Bookstagram/Tok: Camp Slaughter or Ripper Country 

Published in 2009: I got nothing for this.

Okay, so I haven't done a lot of research on what's on my TBR that was published in 2009. I'm sure there's something, my Goodreads TBR is huge. So there has to be something sitting there that I've been wanting to read. Though, if any of you have any suggestions, my comment section is always open!!

HAPPY READING!!

Blood Stained Teeth - Review

Author: Christian Ward

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

Another interesting find thanks to my library FYP page. The cover and title definitely caught my eye, as well as the synopsis. It also helped that Scotty Snyder gave it a blurb. So my interest peaked. I'm also weak for vampire noir style anything. Noir style anything really, the vampire part was just an added bonus really. I was hesitant because some of the Goodreads reviews were not kind, but sometimes that means I really end up liking a book for the reason a lot of people don't like it. On the other hand, all the blurbs said it was a new twist. So I jumped into it.

On a positive note, as a whole, I really did like this story and the world. I liked how they used Bram Stoker in this, and the idea of this secret vampire society. Even the idea of what the good doctor is doing is a solid addition. And, while Atticus is definitely not a good guy, I do kind of like him. Without a doubt, he's a terrible person, a bad guy, but he also knows this about himself. He isn't playing a part, he's just surviving with what he has. And those are always my favorite characters. The ones who don't try to be anything more than what they are.

Also, I really like the way he solves a problem. Which is to not have a plan, but run face-first into and assume the fact he's a vampire will save the day. Also, his sidekick is lovely, and there were some solid one-liners in this volume that made me laugh. This is definitely one of those stories you would love to see picked up as a mini-series because it's brutal enough to make a good action show, but funny enough it wouldn't take itself too seriously. 

Now, that being said, I think calling it a new twist on the vampire story is a little bit of a stretch. It's a good set-up, I love the gritty noir feel of it. I'm always down for a secret society-type trope, and the council is definitely a secret society. However, we've seen the vampire council before. It appears with Anne Rice, Kim Newman, and Stephan Franck, and I'm sure I deep dive into other authors. Also, everything that's happening with the Doctor character, it's very in the vein of Blade. Not the same cure, but the same sort of idea. 

So, yeah the blurbs kind of let me down because I was looking for some new sort of thing in this story, and I really didn't find it. However, I wasn't put off by it because like I said, I really enjoyed the universe and the Atticus. I've already put the second volume on hold to see where the story is going. I just think the blurbs are a little miss leading.

Also, I will say I'm not a huge fan of the art style they chose for this. I think it's well done, different, and oddly fits the story. It was just a personal thing I just didn't spend as much time taking in the details of the panels because it kind of hurt my eyes, and screwed with my brain in places. Though a hundred percent that might just be my problem.

Like I said though a solid read, an interesting read, and I like that's really no set of good guys in this either. Because really, if you did bad things for good reasons, are they then considered a good thing? Also is killing evil vampires a bad thing? 

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wedneday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.

Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures but the town itself.

Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It’s about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).

Why I'm Waiting: Because this sounds adorable and you had me at ghost librarian!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

9 to 5 with fairy tale princesses in a delightful comic fantasy revenge/heist!

Brave, Resourceful, Deceitful, Double-Crossing... Charming.

Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel, known to friends and enemies alike as "Prince Charming," is handsome, well-mannered, brave, a peerless swordsman, a cunning tactician – and a liar, a con man and a fraud. For years he has been travelling from one kingdom to the next, rescuing endangered princesses and maidens, securing their troths and his place in their fathers' palaces, then looting their treasuries and having it away before dawn.

Until a chance meeting of three of his victims – raven-haired Marie Blanche de Neige, the sorceress Doctor Emilia Rapunzel and the long-slumbering Bella Lucia dei’ Sogni – suggests a course of revenge...

HAPPY READING!!

Night Worms Unboxing

July Theme: Cruel Intentions 

Okay, so I've been really excited for this delivery because I've been excited to get my hands on Boys in the Valley. I considered pre-ordering it when Night Worms announced it would be part of the July package, and now it's here! And, of course, I'm in the middle of another book. That's always how it works. This will be my first book by Philip Fracassi, but something about this book calls to me. I've heard good things about the author himself, and seen some positive reviews about this book already. But, something about the book itself feels right up my alley. So I'm really excited to add this to the top of my TBR pile.

As for Augtina Bazterrica's book, I'm excited to read this one as well. I love being introduced to new authors through their stories. I've also seen a lot of positive reviews for Tender is the Flesh, so I'm excited to see if I vibe with Bazterric's writing style!

Of course, I can sign off without talking about the goodie bag! I'm in love with the theme this year of getting magnets. Don't get me wrong, I love stickers, but I've currently run out of space for stickers. My fridge however is quite barren. So filling that empty space with creepy magnets is my new favorite thing! We of course did get stickers! I really love the Cruel Intentions one! And the hot beverage this month! I love Pioneer Joe! I will be brewing that up this week for work this weekend! 

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

"Playmate, come and play with me..."

A beloved classic reimagined with a dark twist.

After her parents' painful divorce, Evie Archer hopes that moving to Ravenglass, Massachusetts, is the fresh start that her family needs. But Evie quickly realizes that her new home—known by locals as the Horror House—carries its own dark past after learning about Holly Hobbie, who mysteriously vanished in her bedroom one night.

But traces of Holly linger in the Horror House and slowly begin to take over Evie's life. A strange shadow follows her everywhere she goes, and Evie starts to lose sight of what's real and what isn't the more she learns about The Lost Girl.

Can Evie find out what happened the night of Holly's disappearance? Or is history doomed to repeat itself in the Horror House?

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

So last week a friend was in town, and while I was showing her around, of course, I had to drag her into one of my favorite bookshops. And wouldn't you just know it, I found treasures! This one of those shops where I never know what I'm going to find because his store is just stacked with books and so many of them retro, vintage, kind. I almost bought the movie tie-in to Basic Instinct, just for the sake of having it on my shelves. It was an urge I obviously didn't get it. I talked myself down. However, like every time I go in there, I didn't leave empty-handed. 

The first two just sounded like a lot of fun! I cannot pass up on anything with Hitchcock's name attached, especially one that is kind of like the Choose Your Own Adventure books. I've recently just rediscovered those, so it was an instant buy! As for The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm was a childhood favorite. I discovered it on one of my family vacations and devoured it while we drove from stop to stop. I don't think I've re-read it since then, but I remember how much I love it! So I'm saving it because a little birdie told me that next year's BINGO card might be re-read themed! 

HAPPY READING!!

Dead Voices - Review

Author: Katherine Arden

Genre: Middle Grade/Horror

Format: Kindle

Pages: 254

This is the second book in the Small Spaces series and takes place a few months after Small Spaces ends. We're still following the same three main characters Olivia, Coco, and Brian, and while the POV shifts from Olivia to Coco throughout the book, Dead Voices definitely is more about Coco. Which I was happy to see. I did like Olivia as a main character in the first book, but it was nice to see another of the trio get more of a spotlight in this book. Fingers crossed Brian will get a bigger part in the next. Though I did get a giggle at what happened to him in this book.

Dead Voices follows the typical haunted house set up with the trio trapped, thanks to a snowstorm, in what they later learn is a haunted ski lodge. Even the history of the lodge itself is one I've read in other books, but this one is a little different from the magic of the Smiling Man. This just adds an extra layer onto the plot because now it's not just a race against Mother Hemlock, but trying to figure out what is part haunting and which is part sinister game.

What's fun for older readers is this book is easy to start to unravel and figure out what the game really is, but I could definitely see the misdirection giving younger readers a hard time. Because even I missed a few key things at the beginning because I was so focused on the haunted house part of the story, I forgot that there was a whole other story being told. Even though it's Book Two, it's Middle Grade rated, and that means the original villain is coming back. I was still like yes creepy orphanage with an evil headmistress. Let's go!

Still a solid side story. I could have a whole second book on what happened to Gabe and I would devour it. Just to learn more about Mother Hemlock, the girls in the bed, and Gretel. 

I also really liked the mini-drama between Olivia's dad and Coco's mom, and their realizing that maybe they might be more than friends. It wasn't a big part of the story, but it's a great Middle-Grade trope that I grew up on. And, it's an easy way to add a little bit of drama between the characters. Though, I was glad that didn't result in major drama or a fight. But, it was sort of like random food for thought for both girls.

Hands down though, Brian's storyline was the best bit. So Dead Voices is as much Coco's story as it is Olivia's story. The first book, it's all about Olivia learning to live again after losing her mother and starting to let people in again. This story is about Coco becoming more brave, trusting herself to be brave, and realizing she has a place amongst her friends. So the plot is really set up like a chess game in Coco's honor. This means, poor brawny Brian, though he does have brains as we learned in the first book because he's an avid reader, wasn't really needed for this game of wits.

Did harm him? No. Kidnap him and tie him up? Nope. The Smiling Man put him in a loop so no door lead to where it was supposed to! He spent the last half of the book running around the ski lodge on a quick trip to nowhere, and the only part that bummed me out was we didn't get a chapter from his point of view while stuck in that loop. But, it's a Saturday Morning Cartoon kind of moment that I adore it.

All-in-all, this was a lot of fun and a solid continuation of this story. I liked the parallels from Book One to Book Two. They were enough that you could tell it was the same villain, but different enough not to get bored. It added new elements of a scare, and parts were actually a little scary. Arden has a way with words that reading in the dark, at like midnight, half asleep, even me, an adult was like, maybe I sleep with the ghost light on tonight. So I'm excited to jump into Book Three, Dark Waters. It's the one that gets recommended to me the most, and it's without a doubt my favorite cover of the entire series!

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

Huge thank you to Quirk Books for more wonderful book mail! I've been really excited about this book because it sounds like it's going to be super weird, and I love it when horror gets weird. But I too grew up in a Midwestern town tucked between cornfields. Right in the middle of what's called tornado alley, and I've seen a few in my lifetime. So all of this has my attention. Because I've been so excited about it, I've been avoiding any talk about it so I don't get any spoilers or swayed one way or another. This will also be my first book by James Kennedy.

So this has moved to the top of my TBR and is already sitting in a book sleeve ready to be picked. Though, this book has my attention I might just read it next after what I'm currently in the middle of. I just really hope this book is as weird as I want it to be. Because I want it to be really, really weird. So what do you all think, what's the over, under on how weird this is about to be?

Drop you thoughts in the comments!

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

Return to Esseriel in the darkest chapter to date of Wynd, perfect for newcomers and longtime fans of Eisner Award-Winning writer James Tynion IV!

The land of Esseriel is a darker and more dangerous place than ever, as tensions between the Human and Faerie realms build to the brink of war. Could Wynd be the only hope for peace? Danger, betrayal, and even some romance confront our heroes at every turn, while elsewhere, the Duke makes murderous plans of his own. Things seem dire, but help from an unexpected figure might just be the lifeline Wynd and Merien need… even though the final battle draws near. The Eisner and GLAAD-nominated Wynd saga continues in this epic new volume from Eisner Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Batman, Something is Killing the Children) and artist Michael Dialynas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), the GLAAD Award-winning creative team behind The Woods.

Why I'm Waiting: Because I adore this series, and I'm ready for to rip out my feelings one more time!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys.

Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.

Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future... a family.

Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides.

Others turn up dead.

Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives — and perhaps their eternal souls — are at risk.

HAPPY READING!!