Lisa Springer

Debut author Lisa Springer delivers a spine-tingling contemporary horror that follows a scary-movie buff as she hosts an elaborate Halloween bash on her family's estate but soon finds the festivities upended when she and her guests are forced to test their survival skills in a deadly party game. Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. Thus, who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island? And with the guest list including the coolest kids in her senior class, her popularity is bound to spike. Hopefully, enough to warrant an expansion into podcasting. Plus, the fact that attractive, singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell is coming is honestly the candy corn on top. Nothing is going to kill her party vibes. Except...maybe the low-budget It clown she hires to lead a classic round of tag. He's supposed to be terrifying, though in a comforting, nostalgic way. Instead, the guy is giving major creeps. But maybe Noelle's just that good at hosting? Her confidence is immediately rocked when the night's entertainment axes one of her guests. And he's not done yet. If an evil, murderous clown thinks life is a game, then Noelle is ready to play. She's been waiting a long time to prove that she's a Final Girl.

One can never ask too many questions in this contemporary horror about a teen girl who gets invited to the soft launch of a luxury resort and finds their wellness practices disturbing--and deadly.Ariana could use a vacation. Her dreams of being a collegiate volleyball player have been crushed by an injury. So, when a new friend invites her and two guests to an all-expenses paid resort off the coast of Barbados, she accepts. Her only thoughts now should be about booking a masseuse, lounging on the beach, and maybe seeing what happens with Jadon, the cute guy in her villa.But charismatic, self-help guru Juniper-Moon has other plans for the group. She keeps preaching lofty ideas on how to better oneself through unorthodox mindfulness activities, intense wellness treatments, and psychedelic microdosing. Plus, “accidents” seem to befall one guest after another, and yet Ari and Jadon are the only ones ready to run for the shores.Once Juniper-Moon makes it clear that everyone must give back to this new community, Ariana and Jadon decide to team up to expose her web of lies and deceit before their loved ones become trapped in an iron-clad grip no one can free them from.