It Rides a Pale Horse
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3.5 • 8 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From a new star in horror fiction comes a terrifying novel of obsession, greed, and the shocking actions we’ll take to protect those we love, all set in a small town filled with dark secrets.
“If you like Grady Hendrix’s novels, Clive Barker, or just a dash of Lovecraftian horror, you’re going to love this one.” – San Francisco Book Review
Peter Larkin — Lark to his friends — is a local hero in the small town of Wofford Falls. The one who went to the big city, found fame in the art world, then returned home to settle down. He's the kind of guy who becomes fast friends with almost anyone. His sister, Betsy, is talented as well. And eccentric. Unlike Lark, she keeps to herself.
When Lark meets with a fabulously rich client, it seems like a regular transaction. Even being met at the gate of the sprawling, secluded estate by an intimidating security guard seems normal. Until the guard plays him a live feed: Betsy being abducted in real time.
Lark is informed that she's safe for now, but her well-being is entirely in his hands. He's given a book. Do what the book says, and Betsy will go free.
"Marino draws readers in quickly, creating sympathy for the characters, unveiling the necessary details to immerse them in a world of art, siblings, deadly intrigue, and a centuries-long nefarious quest. Dread is present from the start, but it quickly escalates into a disorienting cosmic terror that touches everyone." — Booklist
"Marino offers horrors both existential and visceral." — M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts, on The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess
"Dark and fascinating . . . Not quite like anything I've ever read before. A strange, compelling, late-night page-turner. It kept me reading way past my bedtime." —T. Kingfisher, author of The Hollow Places, on The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess
Also by Andy Marino:
The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
It takes two chapters of dazzling if disjointed overwriting for Marino's second horror novel (after The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess) to hit its stride, but as the relationship between sculptor Lark and his painter sister, Betsy, comes into focus, a sophisticated blend of high art and small-town gore likewise emerges. Lark grew up in Wofford Falls, left, and has now returned under mysterious circumstances. He's become a big deal, but not too big to personally deliver a sculpture to anonymous buyers up the road—only to discover that they've abducted Betsy and will kill her unless Lark fulfills a grisly commission inspired by an 18th-century psalter. From this implausible premise, the bare bones of the plot develop predictably: Lark steadily abandons his moral compass, Betsy paints in frenzied parallel in her dungeon, and the reader's dread of their artistic confluence grows. The telling, however, is proportionately complex, invoking vast swaths of culture and history. There are disappointing slips into the misogynistic trope that a man's greatest horror is to be rendered impotent by a woman, but a compensating strength is Marino's rendering of the minor characters, whose steadfastness and humor keep the story grounded even in its wildest flights. It's more style than substance, but it's stylish indeed. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary.
