Four seemingly unconnected individuals vanish from suburban Illinois in this sinuous, horror-tinged YA fantasy from Albert (Our Crooked Hearts). Teen best friends Nora Powell and Becca Cross have been estranged for months, but when Becca texts “I love you” and nothing else late one night, Nora runs over to check on her. She returns home angry after waiting for hours on the Cross family’s porch, where she found an abandoned drink and Becca’s phone. Upon learning that three people went missing overnight, Nora panics, believing the disappearances are related to Becca’s sudden radio silence. Then she starts finding clues left for her—ostensibly by Becca—alluding to a dangerous game they played as kids and the fictional goddesses it inspired them to create, leaving Nora with more questions than answers. Albert intercuts Nora’s first-person narration with occasional third-person flashbacks from Becca’s perspective that recount recent pivotal events, cleverly amplifying tension. Though the shaky integration of the supernatural elements leads to a somewhat unsatisfying denouement, Albert successfully evokes adolescence’s fraught hyperreality using richly textured, authentically angsty characters and a storytelling style by turns ethereal and electric. Main characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (Feb.)

Gr 9 Up— At times lyrical in phrasing but always atmospheric, this occult thriller is one that readers will enjoy disappearing into because of its focus on the power of dark magic, childhood games, and imagination. Pulling no punches, entwining horror with intrigue, Albert opens with a gruesome prologue, immediately vanishing four important players. Nora discovers her former best friend Becca is one of the missing four but knows that the rumors of her running away are wrong, that her friend has left her vital clues. Despite a nasty recent falling out between them, Nora is determined to help Becca, to bring her back safely. Past events and exposition are creatively revealed through recollections rather than flashbacks, and the mystery increases with each additional chapter, winding all storylines into a complex and fascinating puzzle. The dread builds even during pauses in the action, adding in lost time, dissociation, possible hauntings, and Nora's inexplicable craving for huge amounts of sugar. Despite slow revelations and breadcrumb answers dropped throughout, the ending twists and surprises. Readers will feel as off-kilter as Nora, kept second-guessing themselves with each new reveal. All characters are presumed white with some LGBTQIA+ representation. VERDICT A fun, dark, delicious mystery choice for any library serving teens.— Kristen Rademacher