Horror author Ellis crafts an addicting, creepy read by mixing reality with the supernatural. Lola is the daughter of esteemed horror director Nolan Nox, and she's accustomed to moving from place to place at the drop of a hat. Though she's hidden away from the rest of the world, Lola strives to leave her mark while also earning respect and attention from her father. After a brutal attack in her home, Lola is sent for her protection to Harrow Lake, the small Indiana town where Nolan first met Lola's mother and filmed his critically acclaimed, most famous horror film. Though living at Harrow Lake allows Lola space to discover both herself and her past, while digging into her mother's roots and the lore of the town, Lola learns that monsters come in all different forms. Although the novel leaves questions unanswered and some secondary characters seem to have been given more agency, Ellis' eerie storytelling and thrilling backdrop will be appealing enough on their own. Hand to fans of Kate Alice Marshall's Rules for Vanishing (2019).

A teenage girl obscured behind her single father's scary stories fights to get her own last word.The daughter of iconic horror film director Nolan Nox, 17-year-old Lola has only sardonic quips for comfort after she finds her father stabbed. His assistant sends her away from New York City to stay with her maternal grandmother while her father is in the hospital. Lola's prickly attitude and macabre imagination fuel the narrative as she explores Harrow Lake, Indiana, the creepy hometown of a mother she hasn't seen since she was 5. After Lola's mother, Lorelei, starred in a film her father shot there, she got the hell out and never came back. Years later she left her husband and child and disappeared. After Lola arrives, her suitcase mysteriously vanishes, leaving Lola to wear Lorelei's old film costumes in ominous homage. Lola knows her dad's movies inside and out, and she's full too of classic scary movie references: Pennywise, Chucky, even Ellen Ripley. A sympathetic, quick-witted heroine, she at first refuses to be terrified as Harrow Lake presents her with all the trappings of a malevolent place: skittering bugs, disappearing girls, disembodied hands, a living doll, and a nightmare figure who goes by Mister Jitters. Her unflinching devotion to her absent father, whose stern voice rings in her head, tells a sinister story that slowly builds to a heart-pounding climax. Main characters are white.A satisfying quasi-supernatural thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)

Gr 9 Up-Lola, a white 17-year-old, is used to living in the shadow of her famous father, movie director Nolan Nox, though another shadow has followed her around her whole life, that of her mother, Lorelai, who disappeared when Lola was five. After a fight, Lola returns home to find her dad has been badly wounded and taken to the ER. In the immediate aftermath, Lola is encouraged to temporarily live with her grandma, Lorelai's mom, in her hometown of Harrow Lake, where Lola's mom had been the star of her dad's biggest movie success. Upon arrival in town, she realizes Harrow Lake is full of superstitions and she slowly stitches together a story about her mom while also trying to determine if the town's local horror legend, Mr. Jitters, is real. Both aided and held back by the locals and her own memories, Lola attempts to solve all the mysteries, even if it costs her life. Ellis's horror-thriller leads readers down the road of looking for a supernatural monster, but they end up meeting a monster of the natural world. VERDICT A gripping tale that keeps readers turning the pages to find out if the monsters are real.David Roberts, Salem P.L., OH