What I'm Reading: Greyfriars Reformatory

I have one review in the current issue of Booklist Magazine.

Greyfriars Reformatory
By Frazer Lee
Oct. 2020. 266p. Flame Tree, $24.95 (9781787584754); paper, $14.95 (9781787584730). First published October 15, 2020 (Booklist).

Emily finds herself, once again, on the bus, being sent to Greyfriars Reformatory with a new batch of troubled girls, but her acute dissociative disorder means Emily not only has serious behavioral issues, but also lacks the memory of her misdeeds. Through Emily’s honest, but completely unreliable eyes, readers quickly enter the severe and isolated institution, meeting her fellow students, the hard-nosed principal, and a nefarious, ghost girl, dressed in their school uniform. The breathlessly paced plot and its interesting twists and turns alone would keep readers glued to the page, but the solidly rendered creepy setting, Frazer’s ability to develop the secondary characters with strategically placed snapshot, backstory chapters of their own, and Emily's engaging and direct narration which draws readers in despite knowing better, all work together to enhance the unease and atmosphere of this intense tale. Readers heads will spin wondering what is real, what is supernatural and most importantly, who the real monster is. Sell it as Behind Her Eyes by Pinborough meets The Devil in Silver by LaValle to reach the full range of potential fans for this satisfying psychological suspense-horror hybrid.

Further Appeal: This is the perfect example of an intense and terrifying horror-psychological suspense hybrid. It is fast paced but with enough detail to get you hooked on more than the plot. And the twist only works because of how Lee handles Emily's narration. I pointed that out in the review, but I need to stress this. Other characters get shorter chances to "tell" their story but it is Emily who "sells" the horror and the twist.

...and let me tell you....it is a doozy of a twist. 

This is a book you can hand out easily to your fans of more intense domestic suspense-- which as we all know number in the hundreds at every library. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: disorienting, intense, unreliable narrator

Readalikes: I cannot stress this enough...buy this book and give it to all of your domestic suspense fans. As well as the two titles I suggest you can also add Now You're One of Us by Asa Nonami and The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani as readalikes.

Finally, a shout out to Flame Tree Press in general for putting out excellent pulp horror. Every single one of their books is a good choice for libraries. Consider buying them all.

You can find Flame Tree Press catalogs on Edelweiss [distributed by S&S] to preview, you can order through your normal channels, and the books hold up to multiple checkouts. This is one of the reasons why I invited them to present at the 4th Annual Horror Writers Association's Librarians' Day. Their panel, as well as the entire playlist of Librarians' Day videos will go live on 11/1 and can be accessed here [including details about how you can participate and signup].