The Boy in the Woods

Wilson (Final Crossing) takes a stab at a horror thriller in this rather tepid story of a novelist’s complicity in a bloody crime. In 1981, Tommy Devereaux was a 14-year-old living in Lind Falls, Ore. He, along with two other teenagers, saw a younger boy murdered by a woman named Elizabeth, who swore all three to silence. Tommy, now a bestselling thriller writer living with his wife and two children in Denver, has used this incident as the basis of his forthcoming book. He is surprised, however, when Elizabeth reenters his life and threatens to expose his secret unless he obeys her wishes. Desperate to protect his career and family, Tommy becomes increasingly involved with Elizabeth, who boasts of having had a prolific career as a serial killer since their last encounter. Wilson references but rarely comes close to equaling genre classics like Stephen King’s Misery in this middling chiller. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (June)