Face the Night: A Novel

★ 100 BEST INDIE BOOKS OF THE YEAR – Kirkus Reviews, starred★ HOFFER AWARD WINNER • 2022 BEST COMMERCIAL FICTION★ FINALIST 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards – Best New Horror Novel★ SEMI-FINALIST 2022 Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize – Thriller/Mystery"Outstanding...An impressive, complex horror tale—two (rotting) thumbs up." - Kirkus Reviews, starredShe has an eerie gift for drawing faces. Will one terrifying vision tear apart everything she loves?Ohio, 1987. Adriana Krause hasn’t slept in weeks. Desperate for work to keep her three-year-old son out of her powerful father’s controlling clutches, her vivid illustrations land her a job as a police sketch artist. But the only image she can draw is the shockingly mangled visage from her recurring nightmare.With her disturbed nights spiraling into violent episodes, Adriana’s unique talents pull her into the tight-knit small-town’s buried secrets. And now fearing she’ll lose her little boy to the madness sucking her down, she’s convinced that the monstrous likeness she can’t stop scrawling holds the answer to a brutal crime.Can this struggling mother solve a dark puzzle before her family is destroyed?Face the Night is a bone-chilling supernatural thriller. If you like complex characters, lived-in settings, and tension dripping from every page, then you’ll be transfixed by Alan Lastufka’s gripping tale.Buy Face the Night today to survive until dawn!"Great for fans of My Heart Is a Chainsaw." (BookLife)"Reminiscent of early works by Stephen King and Peter Straub." (Kirkus Reviews, starred)"Like a grown-up version of Stranger Things." (IndieReader)

From the Inside Flap

Cellar, Ohio's first police sketch artist just drew the wrong face. A face with no name. With no voice. But with one hell of a secret...Adriana Krause has a talent for bringing subjects to life. Until she draws a rotting, mangled face instead of the described suspect. Shocked, she realizes she's drawn the man who haunts her nightmares. No one has seen this face before-except Adriana.With few allies on the force, Adriana is alone in her pursuit of the hellish figure from her dreams, while battling her father-the mayor-as he tries to take custody of her young son. She needs this job to save her family, but now the unknown man is all she can draw.When her nightmares become waking dreams that lead to a series of violent outbursts, Adriana turns to near strangers for help. She must keep her son, unlock the mysteries of this strange face, and uncover one of the darkest secrets ever buried in her small town.

From the Back Cover

Cellar, Ohio's first police sketch artist just drew the wrong face. A face with no name. With no voice. But with one hell of a secret...Adriana Krause has a talent for bringing subjects to life. Until she draws a rotting, mangled face instead of the described suspect. Shocked, she realizes she's drawn the man who haunts her nightmares. No one has seen this face before-except Adriana.With few allies on the force, Adriana is alone in her pursuit of the hellish figure from her dreams, while battling her father-the mayor-as he tries to take custody of her young son. She needs this job to save her family, but now the unknown man is all she can draw.When her nightmares become waking dreams that lead to a series of violent outbursts, Adriana turns to near strangers for help. She must keep her son, unlock the mysteries of this strange face, and uncover one of the darkest secrets ever buried in her small town.

About the Author

ALAN LASTUFKA lives in Oregon. He writes horror, supernatural, and magical realism stories. His short fiction has been praised by Writer's Digest. The screenplay adaptation of his story, "The Fort," was an Official Selection at numerous film festivals. When he's not writing, Alan enjoys walking through Oregon's beautiful woods with his partner, Kristen.

Reviews

News