Audre loves horror movies, so she can’t help checking out the local teens around a bonfire and working out who would be the first victim. A girl called Elle looks like she would be perfect. Quiet and also the preacher’s daughter, Audre has also been drawn to her since she moved into this small Pennsylvania town.

It’s been a bit of an adjustment for Audre as it seems this town runs on the word of God and Elle’s preacher father who delivers it. Swearing is shocking to the teens around her at school, bible classes are what kids do for fun, and the purple nail polish she wears in class gets her sent home for the day.

Luckily Audre meets David who also speaks Spanish, and who attends a different church to Elle’s dad’s on Sundays. Audre and David get on well and he makes a difficult place to fit in a little easier.

Audre doesn’t get a chance to know Elle better however, as she suddenly vanishes. The police come knocking on Audre’s front door, demanding what her family know about Elle. What makes things worse is that Elle came to see Audre in the middle of the night before. Watching Elle walk back into the forest behind their new home is Audre’s last sight of her.

But the police won’t accept that. Audre realises the rule that her mum told her years before actually makes sense. ‘Never talk to the cops’ is hard as she and David are badly treated and then her family too. Audre struggles to control her rage as openly racist and misogynist police target them.

There is worst to come. It seems that this town relies on prayer to find Elle and no one is actually out looking for her. David stands by Audre’s side as she tries to find out what happened to Elle. They search on their own, discovering signs of some kind of Satan worship in the woods.

Audre knows all about this as her father is a historian, his favourite subject being ouiji boards and the occult. Unfortunately, this interest gives the local police the perfect excuse to point the finger at him.

The more Audre and David try to find Elle, the more they discover about their small religious town and that Satan worship is the least of their worries.

A fast moving murder mystery in a town seized by religious fervour. The local preacher wields all the power in this town, especially over his own family, and his menace overshadows this entire plot.

An outsider coming into a new place is a common plot device, but what happens next is pivotal to a gripping story or not. Main character Audre’s growing worries, disbelief, shock and finally horror held me throughout this young adult novel.

Also a lover of horror movies, I particularly enjoyed Audre’s view of her town and its inhabitants through her horror movie critical lens. This made me laugh out loud in some places and gasp with fright in others.

The cover grabbed me first, but I was quickly immersed in Audre’s new town life and experiences and given a satisfying but eye-scrunching ending. The afterword on what inspired this book is even more harrowing.

Author – Gigi Griffis

Age – 13+

(2023, Penguin Random House, Horror, Religion, God, Fear, Spare the rod, Bible classes, Kidnapping, Disappearance, Mystery, Satanic Cult, Racism, Murder, Small town, New girl, Demons, Spanish, Search, Cult, Crime, Horror, Secrets, Missing)