Shaykitteh's World of Books

As the leaves change color and die, so do the locals of Apple.

Jackson Gill is a high school senior with a broken life. Living in Apple, MA, he lies in wait every autumn hoping that he won't be a victim. For the past sixty years, every September & October bodies are found. It might be a student or a coach, a mother or a biker. No one is exempt from the poison of Apple.

Trapped in a town that no one seems to escape except through death, Jackson can't even find relief at home. His mother has sunken into a deep depression that her pills can't fix, his sister Becky spends more time being Not-Becky, his father hides in the garage making crucifixes, and his grandfather is slowly losing his mind. As Jackson fights to keep his family life as normal as possible, his friend also have to deal with their own monsters. When Jackson, Newie, and Annie find the third death of the year, they are drawn into the growing nightmare around them.

This book is awesomely creepy. The author has a gift for making you really empathize with the main characters while giving you just enough detail so that there are always secrets hiding behind the next chapter. The ending was a surprise to me as well... often with murder mystery-type books you can guess the killer. This book is twisted and unique enough that I was surprised by the ending, yet it all makes sense when you think back at the road you took to get there.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.