It Waits in the Forest

The small Caribbean Island of St. Virgil has more than its fair share of secrets and scandals. Alone ever since a tragic attack killed her father and put her mother into a coma, 18-year-old Selina DaSilva makes a living working in a friend’s souvenir shop while surreptitiously pretending to be a psychic, using her botanical knowledge to help people looking for supernatural solutions to their problems. The arrival of a tourist who’s convinced he’s being stalked by an evil spirit coincides with several gruesome, unsolved murders and the return of Selina’s ex-boyfriend, Gabriel. Haunted by her mother’s reputation as a witch and by whatever dark force she believes is behind the deaths, Selina must work with Gabriel to uncover the truth of what’s happening before the body count increases. Selina and Gabriel contend with small-town dynamics, lingering trauma, an encroaching paranormal threat drawn from Caribbean folklore, and issues of privilege in this atmospheric, claustrophobic-feeling thriller by Dass (When the Vibe Is Right). Complexly brewed fantasy elements set against a memorable setting make for an urgent tale that remains tense and unpredictable to the end. All major characters have brown skin. Ages 12–up. Agent: Wendi Gu, Greenburger Assoc. (May)