IT LURKS IN THE NIGHT

An 18-year-old and her friends are plunged into a dark tide of events that threatens to pull them under.

Maya Woods, a Black girl from the Caribbean, is the daughter of a member of Parliament and therefore obliged to uphold the family image as an exceptional student and model child. Fearing that her bonds with best friends Erica, Pearl, and Lystra will weaken after their high school graduation, Maya hopes they can have one last adventure together. Their annual boat trip seems like the perfect opportunity to make treasured memories. But when they’re forced to evade threatening men, the girls end up on Annatto—the most distant of the Small Islands. It’s a mysterious locale that was once used to treat people with leprosy and is now rumored to be haunted. When the girls are pursued by a terrifying soucouyant in the night, they flee. Erica ends up dead, and the other three leave her body behind when they take off in the boat. When help reaches Annatto and there’s no sign of her, the survivors become subjects of interest—until a week later, when Erica shows up at home, alive. Dass’ masterful tale of friendship and self-discovery takes readers on an emotional roller coaster that’s steeped in Caribbean folklore. The strong pacing and well-developed relationships among the protagonists will keep the pages turning even as secrets and dangers come to light.

A gripping, heart-wrenching story about friendship, family, fear, and the monsters we carry with us.