Dead Fake (Bleak Haven #1)

An unknown assailant reproduces the killings found in deepfake videos of murder scenarios in this entertaining and gory series launch from Ralph (One House Left). Sixteen-year-old Ava Wilson is no stranger to the horrors of a knife-wielding killer: she was six when her uncle Miles stabbed three members of a local family to death before succumbing to a defensive wound. So when Ava’s Bleak Haven High classmates begin participating in a game called Swipe to Die, Ava refuses to show interest in the viral website, which allows people to view an AI-generated video of their own death, each of which occurs in increasingly disturbing and gruesome ways. But after Ava stumbles upon her best friend’s body, his throat slashed open exactly as it was in the Swipe to Die deepfake of his demise, other replicated murders begin popping up throughout Bleak Haven. Upon discovering notes referencing Uncle Miles’s crime, Ava vows to uncover the truth behind Swipe to Die and its connection to her family’s bloody history. While some befuddling subplots lessen the impact of the central narrative, the mystery’s credible and deeply unsettling catalyzing events deftly highlight timely issues surrounding misinformation and artificially generated media. All major characters read as white. Publishing simultaneously: Night Terror. Ages 13–up. Agents: Peter Knapp and Stuti Telidevara, Park, Fine & Brower. (Jan.)