Whisper down the lane / Clay McLeod Chapman.
Material type:
TextPublisher: Philadelphia, PA : Quirk Books, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Description: 301 pages : illustrations ; 23 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781683692157
- 1683692152
- 9781683692331
- 1683692330
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Fiction | CHAPMAN, CLAY | Available | 33111010501373 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"A diabolically creepy hybrid of horror and psychological suspense that thrills as much as it unsettles. You'll keep turning the pages even as your hands shake."-Riley Sager, New York Times best-selling author of Home Before Dark
A pulse-pounding, true-crime-based horror novel inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and Satanic Panic of the '80s.
Richard doesn't have a past. For him, there is only the present- a new marriage, a first chance at fatherhood, and a quiet life as an art teacher in Virginia. Then the body of a ritualistically murdered rabbit appears on his school's playground, along with a birthday card for him. But Richard hasn't celebrated his birthday since he was known as Sean . . .
In the 1980s, Sean was five years old when his mother unwittingly led him to tell a lie about his teacher. When school administrators, cops, and therapists questioned him, he told another. And another. And another. Each was more outlandish than the last-and fueled a moral panic that engulfed the nation and destroyed the lives of everyone around him.
Now, thirty years later, someone is here to tell Richard that they know what Sean did. But who would even know that these two are one and the same? Whisper Down the Lane is a tense and compulsively readable exploration of a world primed by paranoia to believe the unbelievable.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 395-296).
Includes a reading group guide, and a reading and viewing list.
"Richard doesn't have a past. For him, there is only the present: a new marriage to Tamara, a first chance at fatherhood to her son Elijah, a quiet but pleasant life as an art teacher at Elijah's elementary school, and the dream of becoming a real artist some day. Then the body of a rabbit, ritualistically murdered, appears on the school playground with a birthday card for Richard tucked beneath it. Richard is shocked; he doesn't have a birthday... but Sean does. Sean is a six-year-old boy in 1980s Virginia. His father has just walked out and his mother is juggling multiple jobs on food stamps. Meanwhile, all the grown-ups in his life seem worried. Cult leaders, serial killers, and stranger danger is on the rise, with moral crusaders and televangelists stoking the fires of panic. In this pressure cooker environment, Sean's school sends a note to parents alerting them that a teacher is under investigation. Sean likes Mr. Woodhouse, but when his mother asks if the bruises caused by the school bully were really caused by Mr. Woodhouse, a few small lies spiral into a terrible tragedy. Now, thirty years later, those lies are coming back to haunt Richard, because someone knows who he really is - and they're out for revenge. Inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and the Satanic Panic of the '80s, the critically praised author of The Remaking delivers a nuanced portrait of parenthood and mass hysteria."--Provided by publisher.