It Lurks in the Night

Gr 9 Up–The second stand-alone thriller from Dass (It Waits in the Forest) is infused with Caribbean folklore. Set in Chaconia, a fictionalized version of Trinidad and Tobago, it features Maya, 18, the intelligent and people-pleasing daughter of a politician who has been haunted by her older sister’s mysterious disappearance almost a decade before. Maya has a deep interest in ocean and marine biology; it’s only natural that she takes a cruise to the different islands off the coast of Chaconia with her best friends Erica, Pearl, and Lystra before they graduate. However, everything goes awry when they end up on haunted Annatto Island and, trying to escape danger, leave Erica for dead. Shockingly, a week later, Erica is found alive—but different. This novel is steeped in fascinating Caribbean folklore (jumbies, soucouyants, etc.), and is rooted in real tragedies, such as the historical isolation of and stigma against Hansen’s disease patients. Maya is a likable protagonist who is sympathetic to her friends and more intelligent than she realizes. Interwoven with smaller scary stories told by the characters, relationship drama, and political intrigue, the narrative has rarely a dull moment, and the story wraps up with a satisfying conclusion.