After Dark with Roxie Clark

Rather than fearing her family’s purported curse, 18-year-old Roxie Clark embraces it with theatrical flair until tragedy forces her to reevaluate her perspective in this eerie thriller from Davis (The Hollow Inside). Whistler High School student Roxie knows that many of her relatives have died under mysterious circumstances, which they blame on a generational curse. Even so, Roxie is a fan of all things morbid, and regales anyone who will listen with woeful tales of her family history. She’s even developed a ghost tour about it, busing patrons around town to the locations of the historical and more recent deaths. When the repeatedly stabbed and partially burned corpse of Roxie’s sister Skylar’s boyfriend is found in a cornfield, however, Roxie will do anything to help her sibling move on. A year after his death, new evidence prompts Skylar to enlist Roxie to find his killer, but when she insists that the murderer is Roxie’s best friend, Roxie is torn between wanting to prove his innocence and securing closure for her sister. The narrative’s suspenseful ambiance and Roxie’s distinct, loyal-to-a-fault voice make for a riveting meditation on generational trauma and fierce female relationships. Characters cue as white. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)