The Price: A Novel

What would you do to save your child? Your wife? Your soul?Boston District Attorney Will Sullivan dreams of becoming the next governor of Massachusetts. With his beautiful wife, Joanna, and adorable daughter, Sydney, Will seems destined for greatness...until Sydney becomes seriously ill. Now both parents resolve to do anything to save their daughter's life.But in the twilight world of Briarwood Medical Center, nothing is as it seems. Patients on the brink of death are not only surviving but thriving, while others wither away...and the recoveries all revolve around the ministerings of a mysterious counselor, who takes an unsettling interest in Joanna. When Sydney's health miraculously improves, Will suspects that Joanna has made a terrible bargain to save their child. Now Will must face a powerful, unknown evil before he loses...everything.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Categories: Medical thrillers, medical mysteries, supernatural suspense, hauntings, psychological horror, psychological thriller, horror detectiveReviews:"Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre."--The New York Times Book Review"A heartbreakingly eerie page turner..."--Library Journal"Sokoloff is simply amazing."--Bookreporter.com"A sublime second novel . . . Her gooseflesh-inducing imagery jumps right off the pages, and her rich, graceful prose calls to mind names like King, Saul, and Levin."--Dark Scribe Magazine"A medical thriller of the highest order... a stunning, riveting journey into terror and suspense."--Michael Palmer"Beyond stunning. It is harrowing in the true sense of real art."--Ken Bruen"A psychological rollercoaster that keeps the reader on edge with bone-chilling thrills throughout. I couldn't put it down."--Heather Graham----------------------------------------------------------------------------About the author:ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF is the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill Award-nominated author of the supernatural thrillers THE HARROWING, THE PRICE, THE UNSEEN, BOOK OF SHADOWS, THE SHIFTERS, and THE SPACE BETWEEN, and the Thriller Award-nominated Huntress/FBI series (HUNTRESS MOON, BLOOD MOON, COLD MOON). The New York Times Book Review called her a "daughter of Mary Shelley", and her books "Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre."As a screenwriter she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She has written two non-fiction workbooks: SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS and WRITING LOVE, based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog (ScreenwringTricks.com). She has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA, west and the Board of the Mystery Writers of America.Alex is a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where she majored in theater and minored in everything Berkeley has a reputation for. In her spare time (!) she performs with Heather Graham's all-author Slush Pile Players, and dances like a fiend. Learn more at alexandrasokoloff.com

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PrologueDead of winter, and snow falls like stars from a black dome of sky. All sound is swallowed by the swirling white chaos.No human life out there on this night. The city of Boston sleeps in the storm. . . . But underneath the ice beats a great heart that is never still.Beneath the falling snow, a vast complex sprawls like a frozen spider buried in the white drifts—the architectural wonder of Briarwood Medical Center: six state-of-the-art hospitals symbiotically entwined. Labyrinthine underground tunnels and high glass bridges above the snow-swept streets mate the white marble, Doric buildings of the old Massachusetts Bay Medical College, the dark brick buttresses of Mercy, the sleek curves of Briarwood Children’s Medical. Torturously twisting corridors wind through Gothic arches and classic Colonials and angular modern structures, creating a bewildering, futuristic maze.Inside, the hospital has a peculiar vacuum quality of silence. In the fluorescent halls, medical personnel walk in measured paces; dazed, dreamy patients in robes drift past the open doors of darkened rooms. Snow flies outside the windows, beating soundlessly against the glass.Deep within the labyrinth, a man moves in the endless halls: tall and dark, a graceful shadow against the white of the walls.He is at home here—his movements fluid and unhurried, his angular face thoughtful and intent.The corridors twist and turn, drawing the man deeper into the hospital, past vast wards with the injured and terminally ill moored in their beds. There is a throbbing pulse around the man, the heartbeat of the hospital: life-support machines augmenting labored breathing, soft moans of pain, quiet sobbing . . . and a whispering, barely audible at first, but increasing . . . The man cocks his head slightly, listening.The sound builds around him . . . the prayers of relatives keeping vigil . . . pleas in all languages . . . overlapping . . . rising and falling in waves . . . through anger, through tears:Please, God . . . please help her . . . Don’t let him die . . . Dear Lord . . . Signora, aiutami . . . Hear me, Jesus . . . The dark man closes his eyes, listening to the music of the voices. Then his face sharpens, eyes opening and focusing to pinpoints, at the sound of one fierce, stark vow:I would do anything. Copyright © 2008 by Alexandra Sokoloff. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Alexandra Sokoloff is the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill Award-nominated author of the supernatural and crime thrillers The Harrowing, The Price, The Unseen, Book of Shadows, The Shifters, and The Space Between, and the new FBI thriller series Huntress Moon.  The New York Times Book Review called her a "daughter of Mary Shelley," and her books "Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre."As a screenwriter she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She has also written two non-fiction workbooks: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors and Writing Love, based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog (ScreenwritingTricks.com), and has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA, west (the screenwriters' union) and the board of the Mystery Writers of America.Alex is a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where she majored in theater and minored in everything Berkeley has a reputation for. In her spare time (!!!) she performs with Heather Graham's all-author Slush Pile Players, and dances - anywhere, any time, any style, with anyone.  At all.Learn more at alexandrasokoloff.comFollow:twitter.com/alexsokolofffacebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Sokoloff/61942917067

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