Teeth-clenchingly suspenseful at times and deliciously creepy at others, Fahy (Night Visions
) delivers a classic horror story with his YA debut, about a religious cult destroyed by a fire and the six teens who escape. He pulls out all the necessary stops as he constructs the terrifying story of what comes to pass five years later as the surviving teens are being murdered one by one, according to the cult leader's prophecy. The author gives readers gory visual descriptions of the crime scenes, tension-building cliffhangers and the type of unexpected surprises that if translated to film would make moviegoers scream, and he nails each device beautifully. An element of genre-specific camp attaches to some of the scenes; for example, the main character, Allison, has epileptic seizures during which she envisions each murder before it happens; and in a pivotal sequence, Allison assumes the killer is dead, but readers know otherwise. Executed with panache, these familiar elements only add to the overall thrill. A page-turner that just might keep readers up at night—especially given the loosely resolved ending. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)
