From Sarah Hollowell, author of A Dark and Starless Forest, comes a spine-tingling, deliriously creepy YA speculative thriller about two best friends trapped in a corn maze with corpses that look just like them.
Best friends and high school seniors Sadie and Logan make their first mistake when they ditch their end-of-year field trip to the amusement park in favor of exploring some old, forgotten backroads. The last thing they expect to come across is a giant, abandoned corn maze. But with a whole day of playing hooking unspooling before them, they make their second mistake. Or perhaps their third? Maybe even their fourth. Because Sadie and Logan have definitely entered this maze before. And again before that.
When they stumble on the corpses in the maze, identical to them in every way (if you can ignore the stab and gunshot wounds)--from their clothes to their hidden scars to their dyed hair, to that one missing tooth--they quickly realize they’ve not only entered this maze before, they’ve died in it too. A lot. And no matter what they try, they can’t figure out what—or who —is hunting them.
Deeply unnerving, clever, and atmospheric, this time-bending, mind-bending speculative horror is a poignant meditation on the lasting effects of trauma and the healing powers of connection and forgiveness—all while delivering more surprise twists and turns than a haunted corn maze.
This is a perfect fall read, with a corn maze, spooky goings on, wibbly wobbly timey wimey and a vengeful spirit at the heart of it all. It's also very strongly about the trauma of abusive relationships, so if that's a trigger for you, this isn't the book you need.
Spoiler:
I did get a bit confused with the timing; Sadie and Logan find the maze, enter it, and slowly realise they've been there lots of times before, so this isn't their first time through. The maze doesn't show them things that haven't happened yet, it just loops them around. But every other time they die, they come back in the maze again, not travelling to it. So that was a little confusing. But it's a minor issue and didn't upset my enjoyment at all.
If you're looking for a creepy, thriller, mystery with a time travel element that is also about taking the blame you should and not taking the blame that isn't yours...this is the one for you. Highly recommended. Just don't go near any mazes for a while!
What Stalks Among Us publishes on the 12th September, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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