A decade-old crime unites its devoted fans in a haunting novel about delusions in the dark and the dangerous games children play.
Twelve-year-old Maddie Thompson and her friend Lana share a love of horror stories and wild imaginings. But Lana insists they are too old for pretending. It’s time for a different game: serving Him, a figure she sees lurking in the dark, mysterious and demanding. According to Lana, she and Maddie must obey Him or else suffer the consequences. Maddie doesn’t want to lose her most important friendship, even if it means luring an innocent girl into the woods—as a sacrifice for Him.
Ten years later, Maddie is released from an institution and must reintegrate into society for the first time as an adult. While finding her first job and forming new friendships, Maddie struggles to determine what it means to forgive—or to trust—herself. Particularly when she discovers an online community that is not only eerily obsessed with her but committed to the cult of Him.
This is Maddie’s chance at absolution—to convince them not to follow in her violent footsteps. But the loyal devotees have a pull. And Maddie knows that these games often have deadly consequences.
Genre: Mystery
Twelve-year-old Maddie Thompson and her friend Lana share a love of horror stories and wild imaginings. But Lana insists they are too old for pretending. It’s time for a different game: serving Him, a figure she sees lurking in the dark, mysterious and demanding. According to Lana, she and Maddie must obey Him or else suffer the consequences. Maddie doesn’t want to lose her most important friendship, even if it means luring an innocent girl into the woods—as a sacrifice for Him.
Ten years later, Maddie is released from an institution and must reintegrate into society for the first time as an adult. While finding her first job and forming new friendships, Maddie struggles to determine what it means to forgive—or to trust—herself. Particularly when she discovers an online community that is not only eerily obsessed with her but committed to the cult of Him.
This is Maddie’s chance at absolution—to convince them not to follow in her violent footsteps. But the loyal devotees have a pull. And Maddie knows that these games often have deadly consequences.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Kat Davis mines a sensational true crime story for something unsettling and deeply human in this potent novel about girls searching for their places in the world and finding something sinister instead. In a Dark Mirror asks uncomfortable questions about the paper-thin boundaries between our best and worst selves, and it paints a picture of adolescence so tender I had to look away at times. Davis's prose is gorgeous and unflinching. She deftly weaves timelines and perspectives to examine the way lives, families, and entire communities are affected by horrors big and small. I tore through In a Dark Mirror in under 24 hours, but I know it will linger in the shadows of my mind for a long time to come." - Kate Brody
"In a Dark Mirror is a propulsive and twisty thriller that explores girlhood and friendship, obsession and horror. Kat Davis captures the desperation of adolescence with observations so sharp they will take your breath away. Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop!" - Jennifer Close
"At once terrifying and thought-provoking, In a Dark Mirror is a haunting exploration into the tight clutch of childhood friendship. Even more frightening than the violence itself is the blurred line between what is real and what is imagined, and the dark power of a secret shared between friends. Pitch-black, multilayered, and deeply unsettling - prepare to read this with an almost fevered need to find out how it ends." - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
"Get your nightlight ready - In a Dark Mirror is the kind of book you stay up all night to read, and then you'll spend the rest of the week thinking about it. It's a mesmerizing, creepy, original and deeply compelling novel about adolescent girls and the darkness that lurks within, and I gobbled it whole. Kat Davis is a star." - Annie Hartnett
"In a Dark Mirror is a riveting, unsettling thriller that sticks to your bones. There are hints of Megan Abbott in the way Davis writes the lush, obsessive beats of girlhood, but this story has a rhythm and a twist all its own. I couldn't put it down." - Jess Lourey
"In a Dark Mirror combines true crime and urban legend into something entirely, achingly human. It's a testament to Kat Davis's remarkable storytelling that she brings out new facets of the lonely girls who seek refuge in the supernatural, but perhaps her most powerful feat is in following those girls into adulthood, examining the grown women forced to grapple with the real-life consequences. Bold, haunting, and incredibly difficult to put down, this astonishingly confident debut will have you looking into every face you encounter and wondering about the secret darkness we all hold within." - Sara Flannery Murphy
"In a Dark Mirror is a propulsive and twisty thriller that explores girlhood and friendship, obsession and horror. Kat Davis captures the desperation of adolescence with observations so sharp they will take your breath away. Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop!" - Jennifer Close
"At once terrifying and thought-provoking, In a Dark Mirror is a haunting exploration into the tight clutch of childhood friendship. Even more frightening than the violence itself is the blurred line between what is real and what is imagined, and the dark power of a secret shared between friends. Pitch-black, multilayered, and deeply unsettling - prepare to read this with an almost fevered need to find out how it ends." - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
"Get your nightlight ready - In a Dark Mirror is the kind of book you stay up all night to read, and then you'll spend the rest of the week thinking about it. It's a mesmerizing, creepy, original and deeply compelling novel about adolescent girls and the darkness that lurks within, and I gobbled it whole. Kat Davis is a star." - Annie Hartnett
"In a Dark Mirror is a riveting, unsettling thriller that sticks to your bones. There are hints of Megan Abbott in the way Davis writes the lush, obsessive beats of girlhood, but this story has a rhythm and a twist all its own. I couldn't put it down." - Jess Lourey
"In a Dark Mirror combines true crime and urban legend into something entirely, achingly human. It's a testament to Kat Davis's remarkable storytelling that she brings out new facets of the lonely girls who seek refuge in the supernatural, but perhaps her most powerful feat is in following those girls into adulthood, examining the grown women forced to grapple with the real-life consequences. Bold, haunting, and incredibly difficult to put down, this astonishingly confident debut will have you looking into every face you encounter and wondering about the secret darkness we all hold within." - Sara Flannery Murphy
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