Litani

Set in 1984, this harrowing tale from Edgar finalist Lourey (Bloodline) takes 14-year-old Francesca Vera Jubilee from Pasadena, Calif., where she lived with her botanist father until he died of a heart attack, to Litani, Minn., the home of her mother, Carver County prosecutor Linda Jubilee, whom she hasn't seen since her parents divorced seven years earlier. Cold and unaffectionate Linda warns Francesca to stay out of the woods and not to talk to adults she doesn't know. Meanwhile, Francesca keeps hearing about something the local children call "The Game," which they always allude to in a mysterious, frightened manner. Ignoring the warnings, Francesca accepts an invitation from some girls to learn about the Game, which leads her to a satanic cult involved in serious crimes, which Linda is investigating. (Readers who want to be surprised about the nature of those crimes are advised to save the author's opening note for the end.) Curious, perceptive Francesca, with her concern for others, makes an irresistible heroine. Psychological thriller fans will be satisfied. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Oct.)

Lourey serves up another terrifying reality-based thriller. When Frankie Jubilee's parents divorced, she stayed in California with her botanist father while her mother, Linda, returned to their hometown in Minnesota, where Frankie made only one brief, disastrous visit before her father died. At 14 she returns to Litani to live with Linda, a prosecutor, and is dropped into the poisonous atmosphere created by the town children, who play something they call The Game. Her mother, deeply involved with crime and criminals, pushes her out the door to go make some friends, telling her not to leave the nearby playground (what 14-year-olds go to the playground?!) or talk to any adults. Frankie's attracted to the woods, though, where she spent many happy hours with her father and became a plant expert herself, until she's set upon by three tough little girls who beat her up and take her shoes while taunting her about The Game. They're about to steal her most precious possession, a book of her drawings of plants with faces, when she's rescued by Crane, an older teen who becomes her friend. Frankie slowly discovers that her mother is working to take down a ring of pedophiles preying on local children, an organization at least partially based in the trailer park where Crane lives. At the same time, Frankie begins to learn about her parents' pasts, especially that of her father, who forever blamed himself for the drowning of his younger brother. With only a stray kitten to comfort her, she does her best to investigate past and present crimes while trying to escape becoming a victim of The Game. Several real-life cases provide the impetus for a tale of horror, grit, and, ultimately, hope. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.