Poison Princess

In Louisiana, there’s every kind of crazy. There’s the crazy of a grandmother locked up in the madhouse. There’s the crazy of the seething Cajun boy, Jackson, with bandaged knuckles, a drinking problem, and nightmares. And there’s the crazy of 16-year-old Evie, who sees hallucinations that have bloody and all-too-real effects in the real world. In the days before the Flash, a disaster that decimates the planet, Evie is mostly concerned with dodging her boyfriend’s plans for her virginity and surviving the last two years of high school. Her visions of writhing vines and a savagely murderous red witch are just something she has to deal with. After the Flash, Evie faces a whole new reality: she’s not crazy. The “hallucinations” were true. Adult romance author Cole moves past apocalypse into pure horror as she launches her first series for teens: bracketing Evie’s narrative of self-discovery is her chilling encounter with a serial killer who keeps girls—and bodies—in the basement. For fans of Freddie and Jason, Cole’s tarot-themed supernatural thriller will hold a similarly lurid fascination. Ages 14–up. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Oct.)■