The Uninvited

Synopsis

Mimi Shapiro needs to get away. From New York City, from NYU. And from the professor who let things go too far. So when her artist father, Marc, offers his cottage in a remote part of Canada, she gladly hops in her Mini Cooper and drives up north. Way up north.

The little house is fairy-tale quaint, and the key is hidden right where her dad said it would be, so she's shocked to find someone already living there  —  Jay, a young musician, who is equally startled to meet Mimi and immediately accuses her of being the one who's been leaving strange and threatening tokens for him: a dead bird, a snake skin, a cricket soundtrack imbedded in his latest composition. But Mimi has just arrived, so who is responsible? And more alarmingly, what does the intruder want?

Publishers Weekly

Wynne-Jones (Rex Zero, King of Nothing) creates a tale of twisted family ties that begins with a college coed running from an affair turned sour. Wanting to get as far away as possible from NYU-and the professor who is stalking her-Mimi heads to Canada to stay at her artist father's long-abandoned country cottage. When she arrives, she is startled to find the house occupied by a stranger, Jackson (Jay) Page, a half-brother she didn't know existed. After the siblings agree to temporarily share living quarters, more surprises are in store as personal items go missing and Mimi has the eerie sensation of being watched. In chapters focusing on a local and his mother, readers get hints about the big picture, but suspense remains high as the book races to its climax. The characters have strong voices and personalities-their realness, coupled with the idyllic setting, contrasts starkly (and thrillingly) with the story's dark side. If the number of letches and unbalanced individuals that Mimi attracts appears extreme, readers will probably be too caught up in the action to care. Ages 14-up. (May)

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