Old Soul
-
-
4.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
The Historian meets Under the Skin in this searingly provocative literary horror novel about one woman’s determination to stay alive at any terrifying cost.
In Osaka, two strangers, Jake and Mariko, miss a flight, and over dinner, discover they've both brutally lost loved ones whose paths crossed with the same beguiling woman no one has seen since.
Following traces this mysterious person left behind, Jake travels from country to country gathering chilling testimonies from others who encountered her across the decades—a trail of shattered souls that eventually leads him to Theo, a dying sculptor in rural New Mexico, who knows the woman better than anyone—and might just hold the key to who, or what, she is.
Part horror, part western, part thriller, Old Soul is a fearlessly bold and genre-defying tale about predation, morality and free will, and one man’s quest to bring a centuries-long chain of human devastation to an end.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Barker (The Incarnations) delivers a sweeping work of literary horror that spans the globe yet remains distinctly itchy beneath the skin. Strangers Jake and Mariko meet at an airport in Japan and, over the course of their brief conversation, uncover a disturbing connection between the recent deaths of their loved ones. The autopsies of both victims revealed that their organs were "the wrong way round" and both encountered a mysterious woman shortly before their deaths. The details of these encounters lead Jake on an international investigation piecing together testimonies from others who have met the enigmatic woman whose presence, he discovers, can be linked to countless deaths across centuries and continents. Driven by guilt and curiosity, he races to uncover her true nature, even as the woman, always one step ahead, sets her sights on her next victim. Barker weaves an eerie and suspenseful narrative, alternating between Jake's present-day pursuit and haunting flashbacks of the woman's victims. The slow-burning tension and lush, atmospheric prose build a creeping sense of dread that lingers long after the final page. Fans of both the deeply personal speculative horror of Carmen Maria Machado and the subtle, character-driven mystery of Haruki Murakami will be enthralled.
