A smart, suspenseful tale with a whisper of the supernatural…
Porto’s engrossing novel about a young woman trying to solve the mystery of a brutal murder contains hefty doses of tension, suspense, unforeseen dangers, and genuine scares. 1997. Morgan Thomas has recently started her senior year at Clarkes College in the quaint country town of Moon Mountain, North Carolina. When she makes a special plan for Halloween night with her best friend and roommate, Sheridan, she has no idea her life will never be the same again. She wakes in the middle of the night in the vast forest of Moon Mountain, with no memory of her evening. But that’s just the beginning of her problems: soon, she gets entangled in a murder investigation, becoming an unwitting pawn in a dark and disturbing conspiracy. Porto skillfully interweaves an atmospheric classic “cabin in the woods” tale with human drama and pulls off plenty of effective scares. Morgan is a highly relatable narrator, a vulnerable yet smart, determined young woman who more than holds her own in her face-off with her enemies. The secondary cast, especially the flawed yet endearing Sheridan and the dashing Detective Blair, is equally compelling. Told in Morgan’s first-person voice, the narrative moves at a leisurely pace, but the palpable and increasingly building sense of dread throughout keeps the pages turning. The prose is atmospheric and evocative, and Porto keeps the story line intriguing despite the focus on the mystery surrounding the Moon Mountain and the Gallaghers other than the murder investigation. In the last part of the novel, the narrative hurtles along with great urgency to a shocking, rousing climax. Fans of well-constructed, character-based supernatural thrillers ought to take a look.
Moon Mountain
Jess Porto
Pub date November 28, 2022
ISBN 979-8218114251
Price $14.99 (USD) Paperback, $4.99 Kindle
