Friend of the Devil

From acclaimed television writer Stephen Lloyd comes a devilishly good debut: a lightning-fast horror/noir mash-up for fans of Jim Butcher and Joe Hill. It’s the 1980s and Sam Gregory, a substance-abusing war veteran turned insurance investigator, arrives at the galactically elite Danforth Putnam boarding school off the coast of New England to find a stolen manuscript of incalculable value. He soon senses that something far stranger than missing books is afoot—and when students begin vanishing from campus, he realizes how serious it is. At the same time, a reporter is keeping an eye on Sam. Harriet, a physically fragile but spiritually indomitable writer for the school paper, is trying to figure out precisely what he’s up to. As events at the school become increasingly terrifying, Sam and Harriet both venture into increasingly dark territory to crack the mystery. In the end, they uncover a truth more horrible than they could have imagined. Put the novels of Raymond Chandler and Bram Stoker in a blender, splash in a couple drops of Stranger Things, and pour yourself a nice tall glass of Friend of the Devil.