NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER β’ βA hair-raising mystery thatβs equal parts family drama, horror movie, and jigsaw puzzle. . . . Itβs impossible to look away.ββ People (four stars)
βManiacally clever . . . like an M.C. Escher nightmare about Edgar Allan Poe . . . Youβll miss your subway stop, let dinner burn, and start sleeping with the lights on.ββThe Washington Post
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A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, Cosmopolitan, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage
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On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashleyβs life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordovaβa man who hasnβt been seen in public for more than thirty years.
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For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordovaβs dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself. Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordovaβs eerie, hypnotic world.
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The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time, he might lose even more.
*Includes a downloadable PDF of interactive images from the book