Black Heart Boys’ Choir

Fluid writing and expert pacing cannot make up for the unnuanced protagonist of this gory horror novel from Lawson (To Kill an Archangel). After the father of pretentious teenage musician Lucien Beaumont kills himself, Lucian’s alcoholic mother blows through their remaining money, and he is forced to leave his private high school for life as a social outcast in public school where he entertains violent fantasies about his classmates. When Lucien discovers an unfinished piece of music written by his late father that heralds the apocalypse, he becomes desperate to finish it, befriending three other outcast boys and roping them into his obsession. It’s not as simple as just writing notes on paper, however: A demon unicorn who served as Lucien’s father’s muse will share the music with Lucien only after Lucien pays for it with blood. Lawson imbues Lucien with a powerful voice, but his one-note rage and myopic, brooding vision of the world are exhausting and insufferable. This dark novel’s combination of carnage and teenage angst will turn off squeamish readers. (Self-published.)