In this imaginative sci-fi thriller by Coffey (author of Valley of the Kings), strange phenomena are occurring in the provincial town of Lynch, Kentucky. Clay Krutcher can’t catch a break; recently fired from his job, learning his wife is pregnant, and facing the threat of impending criminal charges from his father after parting out his old man’s car, Clay is down on his luck when he stumbles onto a windfall during a solo hunting trip—a discovery that seems to answer all his prayers. Though Clay’s bent on exploiting that discovery, six-year-old Kaden, who is not what he seems, has other plans for him—plans that an unsuspecting Clay could never prepare for, and an otherworldly destiny beyond anything he could imagine.

A parallel storyline finds Lily and Frank Astin reeling from the mysterious disappearance of their son, Jeremy, a young autistic child with dyslexia, causing his parents to fear the worst. As Kaden's true dark intentions are revealed, his life becomes increasingly intertwined with Clay and Jeremy. Coffey's depiction of extraterrestrial body snatchers, the Ocran, is inventive, twisted, and creepy as told through the eyes of the highly unusual Kaden, who possesses a sinister entity lurking just beneath his surface.

The duality of human souls and the cold intelligence from the beings occupying their bodies creates a burning tension as Coffey reveals which characters have been taken over and who will disappear next. As the humans close to those who have been inhabited begin to notice something’s off with their loved ones, Coffey's world building and storytelling shine—juxtaposing the emotional responses from human characters against the cold, calculating action of the nonhuman entities. The irony of young Kaden being a sinister villain lends a horror element to the story, and Coffey delivers heart-pounding terror when unveiling Kaden’s plans for the human race. Readers will be transfixed until the climactic conclusion.

Takeaway: Out-of-this-world science fiction rich with pulse-pounding terror.

Comparable Titles: Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Stephenie Meyer's The Host.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A