Alpine Heights is noisy, shabby, and the lift smells like pee, but it’s home to 13 year old Kyle and his 11 year old sister Lauren. Sure, they have to run the gauntlet of the gangs that hang around the entrance and their step-father is a menacing creep, but they get by okay, sticking together.

Their mum seems to love her new husband, but there’s no way they will call him Da like she asks. It’s much better at home when he’s away during the week with his job as an army private. When news of his death comes after a mission in Northern Ireland, Mum is devastated, her kids not so much.

But when they find him sitting at the kitchen table, they are surprised and shocked. It’s Connor, but not him at the same time. He looks weird, and is acting even stranger. Avoiding him as usual, suddenly he is gone again. But not through the front door.

When an elderly neighbour is taken away in an ambulance, then others too, the siblings know something odd is happening at Alpine Heights, and it’s not just a virus.

Soon they are running, hiding and fighting for their lives as screams ring out through the tower block.

This dyslexic friendly novel is positively terrifying, and gave me the most delicious creepy vibes I’d had in ages!

Split between story, and Classified/Top Secret Interview file transcripts, The Deadsoul Project is part of a series, perfect for reluctant readers. The font is clear and widely spaced, and not on coloured paper which makes it easier for some readers, but sometimes puts other off.

The young main characters are believable, brave and facing a nightmare within their home. With no help from emergency services and then armed forces just as likely to shoot them as save them, the tension is high throughout the novel.

This rachets up to a horrifying ending, and one final eye witness interview of the incident at Alpine Heights Tower Block.

With illustrations throughout and a snippet of the next book in the series at the end of the book, this series is going to hook young horror fans.

Author – Dan Smith

Illustrator – Luke Brookes

Age – 11+

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Publisher – Barrington Stoke / Collins UK

Set in – Tower Block UK

Viewpoint –

Orphan? – Lost Dad / Have step father

Violence – Yes

Real Life – Initially yes

Fantasy – Yes

Sex – No

Blend – Dyslexic / Reluctant Read / Sci Fi / Real Life

(2025, Barrington Stoke, Collins, Harper Collins, Series, Horror, Sci Fi, Family, Action, Courage, Historical, Secret, Aliens, Siblings, Monsters, Creatures, Tower Block, Soldiers, Army, Infection, Teleportation, Experiments, Top Secret, Classified, Interviews, Virus, Night House Files, Thriller, Paranormal, Disaster, Dyslexic Read, Reluctant Read)