Vengeful

With all the knife-sharp thrill of its cinematic predecessor, 2013’s Vicious, bestseller Schwab’s second Villains series plunges readers back into the world of extraordinary humans, or EOs, who were granted special abilities after near-death experiences. Upon being revived, Victor Vale discovers his pain-dealing powers are not only on the fritz but slowly killing him. With the help of hacker Mitch Turner, he seeks a fellow EO to cure him. Meanwhile, newly empowered Marcella Riggins and shape-shifting assassin June are taking over the local mob by force. Eventually the trail of bodies left by both groups bring them to the attention of EON, a clandestine paramilitary organization determined to contain or neutralize all EOs, and in whose laboratories serial murderer Eli Ever is being tortured in a never-ending science experiment. When ordinary human soldiers prove ineffective at tracking Victor or killing Marcella, EON lets Eli out of his cage, and these disparate-seeming threads are finally woven together with Schwab’s characteristic skill, suspense, and vivid imagery. New readers and fans of Schwab’s many other books for adults and teens will dive right in, and fans of Vicious will be overjoyed to rediscover this exciting series. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Sept.)