Number 61- Boys In the Valley- Philip Fracassi

 

Last year I read an advance copy of Gothic and liked it enough that I went out and bought this by the same author.  I've seen this recommended on several Facebook horror groups  so I thought it was a good choice.

I'd like to thank everyone that recommended it. The second book in a row where I can use the phrase "Books like this are why I read horror fiction".

The year is 1905 and in a church run orphanage in a remote Pennsylvania valley, the coming winter will be dangerous for more than just the sub-zero temperatures.

In the middle of the night, the Sherriff and two deputies arrive with a dying man in tow. The man was shot whilst performing a horrific ritual. HIs flesh is covered with arcane symbols, and on his death something is unleashed. 

The boys start behaving strangely, forming rival groups, and dying violent deaths at the hands of their friends.

This is about as claustrophobic as horror gets. The orphanage is miles from anywhere and escape is next to impossible.  Once the violence begins, the book becomes almost unputdownable. Fracassi has created characters that you genuinely care about so when he put them under threat, the tension is unbearable.  The last 150 pages of this book are genuinely stress inducing in the best possible way). 

Although one of the priests is cruel in his treatment of the children, Fracassi thankfully never gives in to the lazy clichés that seem to be compulsory in stories about priests and young boys these days.  The terror of what happens once whatever was in the dying man is released is more than enough.

If the ending of this doesn't raise a tear or two, then there is something wrong with you. This is an easy 9/10 for me. go out and buy it.