Bad Things Happen Here
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
I Killed Zoe Spanos meets The Cheerleaders in this “atmospheric and multi-layered mystery” (Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders) about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths—and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all.
Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next.
When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca’s world, the identity of Whitney’s killer isn’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she’s been running from her whole life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this carefully plotted, character-driven mystery, 17-year-old, mixed-race Black Luca Laine Thomas believes that Parris—her affluent, majority-white, and outwardly idyllic island home—is cursed. Luca's best friend Polly Stern drowned three years ago, and Luca is convinced that her death wasn't accidental, especially given the island's history of young women who die mysteriously. After meeting rich Asian newcomer Naomi Fontaine, 17, Luca's older sister Whitney is found dead. When the Parris police force proves inefficient, Luca resolves to investigate Whitney's death herself. Everyone is under suspicion, including Luca's ex-friend, detective's daughter Jada Charles; Whitney's best friend; and a former drug dealer. But when a harrowing secret threatens to hinder the inquiry, the teens come together to upend Parris society's pristine reputation. Luca's investigative prowess makes her an impressive heroine, but it's Naomi and Luca's romance that keeps the narrative fresh. Through Luca—whose acute sense of identity as a queer fat girl is exemplified in her sardonic telling—Barrow (Interview with the Vixen) examines themes of mental illness and self-worth, forgiveness, and acceptance. A beginning note contextualizes instances of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and sexual violence. Ages 14–up.
