GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES

A cutthroat competition becomes haunting.

It’s been two years since Mina Park, Sunny Lee’s best friend, died, and although her death was ruled a suicide, Sunny was there that night. While she’s not sure exactly what happened, she knows something much darker was going on. Mina’s passing, following a scandal around leaked nude photos, was the final blow to Sweet Cadence, their all-girl Asian American pop group. After descending into obscurity and relocating to Atlanta from Los Angeles, Sunny is ready to try a workshop that offers a chance at K-pop stardom. She’s also motivated by the chance it offers to be face to face with Candie Tsai, who will also be participating. Former close friend and bandmate Candie was also there when Mina died. Seemingly flawless Candie has the perfect idol persona, but Sunny knows she is dangerous—and that she knows what really happened to Mina. Sunny will do everything in her power to get to the truth. As the days blend together, Sunny’s night terrors become reality, and strange things start happening to the girls in the program—and it all leads back to Candie. The narrative is haunting and magnetic, and an example of masterfully executed psychological horror that readers will find difficult to put down. True to its title, the gore is disturbing. Sunny’s parents are from Taiwan and Hong Kong; Candie’s family came from China, and Mina was Korean American.

Immensely and terrifyingly satisfying from beginning to end.