It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass (review)

Reviewed by: It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Dass, Sarah It Waits in the Forest. Rick Riordan/Disney Hyperion, 2024 [320p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781368098335 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Selina DaSilva rejected the supernatural long before a disastrous murder case made her family pariahs on the small Caribbean island of St. Virgil and a horrific attack took her parents from her. Now, the psychic sessions she holds in the back of a souvenir shop are just a scam: harmless con tricks to keep the cash flowing in while she tries to secure a safe, respectable future. But in the wake of an unsettling encounter with a client, a fresh string of deaths on the island, and the return of journalist ex-boyfriend Gabriel, Selina's denial of her own haunting visions stretches to the breaking point. The narrative succeeds most as a portrait of a young woman paralyzed by grief and denial; as a thriller, it's mildly chilling, while the Caribbean folklore is disappointingly (though logically) sidelined by Selina's perspective until it's needed. The same applies to the overall exposition strategy, in fact: clever brushes [End Page 277] with unreliable narration throughout aren't enough to compensate for a lack of signposting, rendering the conclusion more surprise than culmination. Despite the unforeseeable final reveal, though, Dass offers a smooth and enjoyable read that pulls in classic detective elements, class tensions, and painful personal history in a beautifully described island setting. This would be a welcome addition to collections seeking to augment their Afro-Caribbean representation and would pair nicely with the more folklore-oriented King of Dead Thing (BCCB 3/24).