Gothic

Tyson Parks, a successful horror novelist, hasn’t had a hit in years and is struggling with his latest deadline. His longtime girlfriend, Sarah, hoping to help, has purchased Tyson a gorgeous antique writing desk for his 59th birthday. However, this desk turns out to be a dangerous occult artifact. Now ensconced in Tyson’s office, the desk uses him as a conduit to tell its story, an extreme horror novel that will bewitch readers and catapult Tyson back onto the best-seller list. The paralyzing terror caused by the ancient evil possessing the desk engulfs both the characters and the novel’s readers from the start, but it is further amplified by Fracassi’s (A Child Alone with Strangers; Boys in the Valley) masterful storytelling. Told through multiple points of view, the novel’s structure itself escalates the dread and violence, keeping readers glued to the page.