The Thicket

Book excerpt: Would you recognize a real scream at Halloween? That's the question haunting Norah Lewis. She heard -and ignored-her brother's last screams on the night he died. Because nothing in the haunted house was supposed to be real. Not the screams. Not the knife-wielding psychopaths. And not the blood.In the wake of the slayings, parent groups and PTAs lobby for a shutdown while thrill seekers-including many of Norah's classmates- clamor to visit the "real" haunted house.Tormented by survivor's guilt, Norah secretly plans to retrace her brother's final steps.But the killer hasn't chosen his hunting ground at random. And, like Norah, he plans to return.