Name: The Bright Lands
ISBN: 9781335457738

John Fram

The town of Bentley holds two things dear: its football and its secrets. When star quarterback Dylan Whitley goes missing, fear grips this remote corner of Texas. Dylan's brother, Joel, a gay man with secrets of his own, is convinced there is more to the disappearance than meets the eye, as does Sheriff's Deputy Starsha Clark. But their search for answers will bring them to the dark truth behind an urban legend whispered about in the locker rooms and bleachers of this All-American town. The Bright Lands.

The Bright Lands

A Library Journal Best Winter/Spring Debut 2020 "Marks the debut of an already accomplished novelist." --John Banville The town of Bentley holds two things dear: its football, and its secrets. But when star quarterback Dylan Whitley goes missing, an unremitting fear grips this remote corner of Texas. Joel Whitley was shamed out of conservative Bentley ten years ago, and while he's finally made a life for himself as a gay man in New York, his younger brother's disappearance soon brings him back to a place he thought he'd escaped for good. Meanwhile, Sheriff's Deputy Starsha Clark stayed in Bentley; Joel's return brings back painful memories--not to mention questions--about her own missing brother. And in the high school hallways, Dylan's friends begin to suspect that their classmates know far more than they're telling the police. Together, these unlikely allies will stir up secrets their town has long tried to ignore, drawing the attention of dangerous men who will stop at nothing to see that their crimes stay buried. But no one is quite prepared to face the darkness that's begun to haunt their nightmares, whispering about a place long thought to be nothing but an urban legend: an empty night, a flicker of light on the horizon--The Bright Lands. Shocking, twisty and relentlessly suspenseful, John Fram's debut is a heart-pounding story about old secrets, modern anxieties and the price young men pay for glory.

isabella

It turns out this is not just a thriller???

Cheri McElroy

Three stars. A great beginning, tension building in the middle, and a reprehensible and, frankly, unbelievable ending. There really were no ties to football, and almost no character development. The horror element was lacking too. I do think the author has writing talent, and I liked all the secrets and the pacing, thus the three stars.

The Bright Lands

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