After dark with Roxie Clark

Title:

Author:

Summary:

Roxie Clark has seen more dead bodies than your average seventeen-year-old. As a member of the supposedly-cursed Clark family, most of her ancestors have met tragic ends, including her own mother. Instead of fearing the curse, however, Roxie has combined her flair for performance and her gruesome family history into a successful ghost tour. But her tour never covers the most recent body she’s seen―her sister Skylar’s boyfriend, Colin Riley, found murdered in a cornfield. A year after the murder, Roxie’s desperate to help Skylar find closure and start to heal. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. As the sisters dig into what really happened, they discover that more than one person has been lying about that night. And the closer they get to the truth, the more Roxie starts to wonder if some scary stories might be better left untold. -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 13+. Bloomsbury YA.

Grades 7-9. Bloomsbury YA.

Physical Description:

341 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Thrillers (Fiction)

Subject Term:

Murder -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Sisters -- Fiction.

Secrecy -- Fiction.

Teenagers -- Fiction.

Murderers -- Fiction.

Ghost tours -- Fiction.

City and town life -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Indiana -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Bloomsbury YA,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781547606146

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Bloomsbury YA, 2022.

Call Number:

YA DAVIS

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003658138	Young Adult	DAVIS	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A twisty YA thriller about a girl who revels in leading ghost tours, but discovers that even she can be spooked when a chilling murder hits closer to home.

An Indie Next pick!

Roxie Clark has seen more dead bodies than your average seventeen-year-old. As a member of the supposedly-cursed Clark family, most of her ancestors have met tragic ends, including her own mother. Instead of fearing the curse, however, Roxie has combined her flair for performance and her gruesome family history into a successful ghost tour. But her tour never covers the most recent body she's seen--her sister Skylar's boyfriend, Colin Riley, found murdered in a cornfield.

A year after the murder, Roxie's desperate to help Skylar find closure and start to heal. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. As the sisters dig into what really happened, they discover that more than one person has been lying about that night. And the closer they get to the truth, the more Roxie starts to wonder if some scary stories might be better left untold. Brooke Lauren Davis offers another thought-provoking and eerily satisfying tale, perfect for fans of Kara Thomas and Cruel Summer .

Author Notes

Brooke Lauren Davis grew up in rural Southern Ohio. Now she lives in North Carolina, where she spends her time dreaming up more stories about small towns with big secrets. She is also the author of The Hollow Inside .
brookelaurendavis.com
Instagram: @brookelaurendavis

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up--The women in the Clark family are cursed; except for her sister and her grandma, all of Roxie Clark's female relatives have met an untimely demise. Roxie has made the macabre her hobby, passion, and part-time job. She has embraced her family's grim history and created an elaborate ghost tour that earns her a bit of extra cash during the Halloween season. She's even added a tour bus. Meanwhile, there is a fresh murder in town. Her sister's ex-boyfriend has turned up dead, and suspicions abound as to who may have done the dastardly deed. As all eyes look toward the recently released local felon, a second body is discovered. A tame romantic subplot helps the story clip along as Roxie finds herself dividing loyalties between her sister and her best friend--turned-crush. A presumably all-white cast is featured. The ghost tour is so well-painted that readers would eagerly hand over the money to be included on the next trip. VERDICT Suspending disbelief about a teen's ability to conduct a thorough murder investigation, readers will enjoy this solid mystery with a satisfying resolution; the ghost stories are great.--Leah Krippner

Publisher's Weekly Review

Rather than fearing her family's purported curse, 18-year-old Roxie Clark embraces it with theatrical flair until tragedy forces her to reevaluate her perspective in this eerie thriller from Davis (The Hollow Inside). Whistler High School student Roxie knows that many of her relatives have died under mysterious circumstances, which they blame on a generational curse. Even so, Roxie is a fan of all things morbid, and regales anyone who will listen with woeful tales of her family history. She's even developed a ghost tour about it, busing patrons around town to the locations of the historical and more recent deaths. When the repeatedly stabbed and partially burned corpse of Roxie's sister Skylar's boyfriend is found in a cornfield, however, Roxie will do anything to help her sibling move on. A year after his death, new evidence prompts Skylar to enlist Roxie to find his killer, but when she insists that the murderer is Roxie's best friend, Roxie is torn between wanting to prove his innocence and securing closure for her sister. The narrative's suspenseful ambiance and Roxie's distinct, loyal-to-a-fault voice make for a riveting meditation on generational trauma and fierce female relationships. Characters cue as white. Ages 12--up. (Oct.)