by Stephen Carter
Illustrated by Galen Dara
Book 1 of The Harrowed Valley Hauntings
YOUNG ADULT / YA / PARANORMAL / GHOST STORY
It’s Here!
Thou shalt honor thy ancestors.
Unless they are trying to kill thee.
Moving to an old house in a tiny Wyoming town has made life miserable for 14-year-old Paul McCallister. The ancient toilet doesn’t work, two school bullies have singled him out as prey, and, worst of all, his mom has disappeared. The only thing that keeps Paul sane is the friendship of his Uncle Doc who, when not tending his gigantic junk shop, snoops around in their family’s strange past. And in that past lurks a mystery: A vanished woman. A pool of blood. An old house that won’t stay quiet. As Paul comes closer to solving that mystery, a dark presence begins to haunt him. Paul will soon discover how long hatred burns, how deep blood runs, and what he’s willing to sacrifice for family.
With ancestors like these, who needs enemies?
FIRST CHAPTER GLORYPreview
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PRODUCT DETAILS
Print Edition:
- 210 pages
- 5.25″ x 8″ (12.7 x 20.32 cm)
- Black & White on Cream paper
- ISBN-13: 978-1482021622
- ISBN-10: 1482021625
- BISAC CODE: Juvenile Fiction / Horror & Ghost Stories
- Price: $11.95
Kindle Edition:
- Price; $5.99
- File Size: 640 KB
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
- Publisher: Leicester Bay Books; 1st edition (February 26, 2013)
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00BMDDIIK
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
- BISAC CODES:
- Books > Children’s Books / Science Fiction & Fantasy / Spine-Chilling Horror
- Books > Literature & Fiction / Genre Fiction / Coming of Age
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Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks / Literature & Fiction / Genre Fiction / Coming of Age
- Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks / Teens / Horro
REVIEWS
Publisher’s Weekly
“As Paul’s ghostly sightings become possessions and his very life becomes endangered, the tension ratchets up, leaving readers hoping that Paul will emerge unscathed… Paul and Doc both shine and carry this suspenseful story to the end.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly
At Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Creepy March 2, 2013
By Daftwooly
“This is what a horror book should be, in my opinion. Mystery, creepy, several moments where you wonder just how much trouble you and the main character are in. This book does NOT think that pools of blood and a foul mouth make for a spooky read. Instead, the tension is balanced and pulled tight enough to hum. You come to care for the main character, Paul, and I was happy following him though all of the twists and turns as he realized just how deep he was in with a 100-year-old murder. The fact that it was a family murder long ago resonated with the family problems in his own life.
The descriptions were what made this book. The kind of descriptions that makes the back of your neck tingle and keeps you looking out of the corner of your eye to see if that shadow moved. You know that there is something bad coming, and the author doesn’t ruin it when you finally get to the revelations. They are as beautifully and fascinatingly creepy as everything leading up to them.
I do have to say that as much as I was happy to hang out with Paul and worry along with him, my favorite character was Doc, the eccentric old relative who owns an amazing junk shop and who provides mentoring and comic relief for the story. I certainly wouldn’t want to spend much time in that junk shop without hand sanitizer in real life, but that’s what made it all the more fun to visit in the book.
After reading this book myself, I used it as a read-aloud to a group of ten-year-olds. They pestered me every day for longer and longer reading sessions. They insisted that we read in the dark while they held hands and jumped at each surprise. I don’t often find a scary book that could appeal to such a wide audience.”
5 out of 5 stars: “Subtly Creepy and Deftly Light-hearted”
March 18, 2013
By Scot Denhalter
“I found Stephen Carter’s Hand of Glory to be an engaging read, one that wraps its bony fingers around your tingling nerves and won’t let go. But Carter imbues his horror with a subtlety that is creepy rather than violent, and with a deftly light-hearted humor. This makes his work fun fare for both the teen and pre-teen reader. I anxiously await the next installment.”
June 28, 2013
By Lisa Downing
“There’s a lot to love about The Hand of Glory, by Stephen Carter, but my favorite thing about the book is the memorable characters that fill it. Or maybe its the quirky humor that gets mixed into the overall creepiness of the story. But then, its the characters who are amusing, so I suppose its one and the same thing. The humor here is real asset for the targeted age group. But so is the historic background. Who would think to write a horror story based in a mystery surrounding old-timey polygamy? Just such a unique concept. Enjoyed the book and will be re-reading it with my 11 year old this summer.”
WHERE TO BUY
- Buy the book from Zion BookWorks for $11.95 (+shipping and Maine sales tax) through our Pay Pal Shopping Cart by clicking the ‘Add To Cart’ button: (Be sure to enter your zip code to calculate the postage)
- Purchase the KINDLE edition for $5.99
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