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Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
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Boys in the Valley

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Narrator David Aaron Baker

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Length 10 hours 55 minutes
Language English
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This program is read by David Aaron Baker, who brings the nightmare to life with his sinister narration. He has earned several AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been a three-time finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Male Narrator.

The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies, by way of Midnight Mass, in Boys in the Valley, a brilliant coming-of-age tale from award-winning author Philip Fracassi.

โ€œA sublimely chilling story.โ€ โ€”Library Journal, STARRED review

St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys.

Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.

Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future...a family.

Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides.

Others turn up dead.

Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives โ€” and perhaps their eternal souls โ€” are at risk.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

PHILIP FRACASSI is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of the story collections Behold the Void and Beneath a Pale Sky. His novels include A Child Alone with Strangers, Gothic, and Boys in the Valley. His stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Interzone, and Black Static. Philip lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Copps Literary Services.

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Reviews

Praise for Boys in the Valley

โ€œThe prose is precise, the terrorโ€™s exquisite, and Fracassiโ€™s got his hand on the chisel going into your chest.โ€ โ€”Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of My Heart Is a Chainsaw

โ€œA sublimely chilling storyโ€ฆ.Fracassi almost cheerfully paints this gloomy tale with painfully beautiful and detailed prose that is not afraid to shy away from gore and terror.โ€ โ€”Library Journal, STARRED review

โ€œGut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and terrifying.โ€ โ€”Andy Davidson, author of The Hollow Kind

โ€œAs poignant as it is chilling, with a fast-paced, unflinching ending, itโ€™s the richly drawn characters that make Boys in the Valley a standout.โ€ โ€”Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor and The Hunger

โ€œA riveting, and horrifying, tale of survival set against a punishing and vivid backdrop. Think William Peter Blatty and William Golding blended togetherโ€ฆbut still the insights and angles are all Philip Fracassi.โ€ โ€”Victor LaValle, author of The Ballad of Black Tom

โ€œHarrowing and claustrophobic, Boys in the Valley is an outstanding horror novel, filled with dread. You can feel the evil in this story, soaked into every page. One hell of a read from Philip Fracassi!โ€ โ€”Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows

โ€œBoys in the Valley is cruel, creepy, and keeps the pedal to the metal. An unrelenting and highly entertaining show of horrors.โ€ โ€”Thomas Olde Heuvelt, author of Hex and Echo

โ€œPerfectly paced, elevated horror. Fracassi is required reading for the genre and beyond. A bellwether of whatโ€™s to come.โ€ โ€”Jonathan Edward Durham, author of Winterset Hollow

โ€œThis is not only a smart and deftly-written tale instilled with the kind of creeping, claustrophobic horror that I enjoyโ€”Fracassi's got real love for his characters: you truly care about his motley band of boys, and their fates.โ€ โ€”Nick Cutter, bestselling author of The Troop

โ€œPhilip Fracassi amazes and inspires me. Full stop.โ€ โ€”Gemma Files, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author

โ€œA gothic, gory Lord of the Fliesโ€ฆThe horror here is as much a warning on the dangers of human corruption as a testament to hope in the face of nigh-insurmountable darknessโ€ฆHorror readers will be hooked.โ€ โ€”Publishers Weekly

โ€œFracassiโ€™s tale casts a black spell...exploring the limits of faith, the bonds of brotherhood, the loss of childhood, and the extremes of evil.โ€ โ€”J. Todd Scott, author of The Flock

โ€œThe most unsettling novel I have read all year. Cold dread clings to every page.โ€ โ€”Ronald Malfi, author of Black Mouth

โ€œA tale that will truly frighten, unnerve, and touch readers' heartsโ€ฆa beautiful novel that should be โ€” will likely be โ€” remembered as one of the best of the young decade.โ€ โ€”Cemetery Dance Online

โ€œFast-paced, relentless, and chilling without ever neglecting the human side of the proceedings. This is pure horror that should satisfy any fan of the genre.โ€ โ€”Jeffrey Thomas, author of The American

Praise for Philip Fracassi:

โ€œFracassi makes terror read so damn beautifully.โ€ โ€”Victor LaValle

โ€œFracassi...builds his horrific tales slowly and carefully...he's especially skillful at creating, and sustaining, suspense.โ€ โ€”The New York Times

โ€œThis Fracassi guy is damn good.โ€ โ€”Richard Chizmar, New York Times bestselling author

โ€œPhilip Fracassiโ€™s fiction is a mix of old and new school horrors, chock full of frightening monsters, demons, and humans. I always look forward to what heโ€™s going to do next.โ€ โ€”Paul Tremblay, author of The Pallbearers Club

โ€œFracassi...brings a depth of understanding to his monsters, human and otherwise.โ€ โ€”The Guardian

โ€œFracassiโ€™s storytelling is...horror with a big, broken heart.โ€ โ€”Esquire

โ€œPhilip Fracassi is the best sort of horror writerโ€”one who is unafraid to hunt for light in even the darkest places.โ€ โ€”Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters

โ€œPhilip Fracassi is an artist who paints with wordsโ€ฆtimeless and original.โ€ โ€”Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth

โ€œA master storyteller.โ€ โ€”Jonathan Janz, author of The Siren and the Spectre

โ€œHis range, prolific output, and fast-paced prose are all set to put him on the shelf next to names such as King, Straub, and Thomas Harris.โ€ โ€”Signal Horizon

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