“In a few strides she hit the tree line, and then she was in the dark. Everything was different here, like the trees had tugged her out of the world of open water and night skies and into an empty void.” Logan Ortiz-Woodley just graduated from high school, and all she wants is to find a place to call home. But first, she has to go with her dads to their hometown, Snakebite, Oregon, to do some location scouting for their ghost-hunting show ParaSpectors. But things are wrong in Snakebite, and they might be getting worse. Ashley Barton is one of the popular girls and her boyfriend Triston has gone missing. Time is running out, things are weird, and Ashley just wants things to go back to normal, so she enlists Logan’s help. The Dead and the Dark is a book that takes some time to pull you in, but once it does, there is no escape. Readers of both YA and Adult thrillers and horror will find something to love in Gould’s writing, which keeps readers on edge. Keep the lights on and start this book in the early morning because you won’t be able to stop but you won’t want to read after dark! Content warnings for absent parent, homophobia, assault, and harm to children.
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould, (List Price: $12.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250861092, September 2022)
Reviewed by Faith Parke-Dodge, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
