1) "The Watcher in the Shadows" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Originally published in Spain, this chilling book follows the mysterious events that take place in a sleepy French coastal village in 1937.
After her father dies and his debts drive the family into a new life of poverty in Paris, 14-year-old Irene Sauvelle moves with her mother Simone and younger brother Dorian to Blue Bay. Simone becomes housekeeper at Cravenmoore, the grand, secluded mansion of retired toymaker Lazarus Jann and his bedridden wife. In exchange for her work, which includes overlooking Jann’s strange proclivities and supervising the single cook/maid, a local teen named Hannah, the Sauvelles get to live in a picturesque cottage called Seaview. The talkative Hannah introduces Irene to village life and to her orphaned cousin Ismael. Back at Cravenmoore, the enigmatic Jann wows Dorian with his numerous mechanical toys and inventions. As romance ignites between Irene and Ismael, a brutal murder in the forest between Seaview and Cravenmoore quickens the pace and the pulse. Many of the standard tropes of the mystery genre abound (an off-bounds west wing, a sinister forest, a cruel mother, eerie newspaper clippings), yet Zafón has created an original tale that will keep readers turning pages. The romance and female protagonist may make the novel more appealing for females, but there are enough creepy elements to reach male readers.
A genuine mystery with occasional horror elements. (Historical mystery/horror. 13-18)
2) "Skeleton Man" by Joseph Bruchac
Bruchac (The Journal of Jesse Smoke, p. 655, etc.) sets this short nail-biter, based on a Mohawk legend—about a man with an appetite so insatiable that he eats himself down to bones, then goes after his relatives—in modern New York state. Despite her protests, when Molly’s parents suddenly disappear, she’s handed over to a tall, thin stranger claiming to be her great-uncle. Molly can’t convince anyone, except a sympathetic but powerless teacher, that she’s in danger. But as she is locked into her new room each night, seldom catches even a glimpse of her captor’s face, and discovers that he has a closed-circuit TV camera trained on her door, she recalls a scary tale her Mohawk father tells. She also begins having strange dreams: of being pursued, and of a rabbit who offers warnings and guidance. Those dreams turn real when she escapes, finds her parents imprisoned in an adjoining building, then leads her captor on a desperate run through dark woods to a (perhaps final) confrontation on a high, rickety bridge. Bruchac adds believable details, vigorously cranks up the suspense, and pits a deliciously ghastly creature who likes to play with his food against a resourceful young heroine who draws both on courage and cultural tradition to come out on top. A natural for under-the-blanket reading. (Fiction. 10-12)
3) "Bonechiller" by Graham McNamee
4) "Dark Inside" by Jeyn Roberts
After an apocalypse of devastating earthquakes and murderous mobs, four teenagers struggle to survive.
Earthquakes destroy North America’s entire west coast, collapsing buildings and killing thousands, but that’s the easy part. Apparently triggered by the quakes, the darkness inherent in humanity emerges, turning most survivors into a semi-intelligent mob with one purpose: to murder every “normal” person they can find. Aries in Vancouver, Mason in Calgary, Clementine in Iowa and Michael in Colorado all travel until their stories converge, experiencing constant danger, meeting others along the way and uncovering their own hidden strengths. Aries, for example, begins as a chatty adolescent but quickly emerges as a natural leader. Guilt-ridden Michael learns to forgive himself, and mournful Mason learns to love, while Clementine perseveres, although enigmatic Daniel just might be on the other side. Roberts makes readers care about each of them, masterfully keeping suspense high as the teens search for food, clothing and hiding places while fighting off attacks. The simple details of survival, such as living without electricity and refrigeration, fascinate as much as the fight scenes. Overall, a spirit of optimism wins through the post-apocalyptic despair. The four separate threads share enough common elements that, although distinct, they merge into a coherent narrative.
Well-balanced, realistic suspense. (Post-apocalyptic suspense. 12 & up)
5) "The Face on the Milk Carton" by Caroline B. Cooney
In a novel that never quite lives up to its gripping premise, a high-school student discovers that her much-loved parents may in fact be her kidnappers. After Jane Johnson sees what seems to be her own face as a three-year-old displayed on a school lunch carton, she is plunged into a series of flashbacks: memories of long-forgotten childhood experiences that reinforce her sudden suspicion that she may have been kidnapped. As the underpinnings of her secure world slip, she clings to Reeve, the boy next door, with whom she is falling in love. Her parents' explanation (they are her grandparents; her mother abandoned Jane to return to a cult) proves unsatisfactory, pushing Jane toward emotional collapse until--with the help of Reeve and his sister--she finds a way to face the situation rationally. Cooney's original plot and satisfying resolution are marred by Jane's interminably overwrought analysis of her condition, and by a love interest that is more tacked on than intrinsic. Nevertheless, a real page-turner.
6) "The Body of Christopher Creed" by Carol Plum-Ucci
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