"This is what evil looks like... ordinary people doing terrible things." Evil seethes beneath the surface of the impossibly beautiful, improbably prosperous New Zealand vacation hamlet of Summerton, cloaked from the tourists and suspected by but a few misfit residents. The fractures appear only when three teens compare their suspicions after they each lose a beloved older brother to suicide. Hero Sione joins 17-year-old Keri and Janna in a quest and helps them rekindle a lost childhood friendship. The narrative shifts among their three perspectives, and their relentless investigation elevates the plot from a suspected murder mystery to gritty black fantasy. Supernatural forces appear to be responsible for the suicides, which might really be murders.
Karen Healey (Guardian of the Dead) taps into her native New Zealand for the multicultural cast and setting of her second novel, and the exotic locales and cultures imbue the novel with depth and intrigue. For readers unfamiliar with cultural references to the Maori, the native New Zealanders, and Samoans, she provides a glossary in the back. Healey seamlessly weaves together several psychological subplots that address the impact of bullying on those with a different cultural background, sexual orientation or spiritual practice. This fresh cultural take on the young adult paranormal quest will shatter your preconceptions of the genre. --Jessica Bushore, public librarian.