Wilderness Reform

May 15, 2024
Riding high on the success of their first novel, Old Country (2022), the Query brothers bring readers to Lafitte, Louisiana to meet a troubled thirteen-year-old, Ben, who keeps getting into trouble with the law and is destined for a life in prison. He wants to escape his aunt's house to give himself and his younger brother Wade a better life. When a director of a wilderness reform school comes to Ben's house to tell his aunt about the wilderness program for boys, it's clear this is not any ordinary summer camp. With no choice, Ben heads to Montana to meet the other teens in this program. Ben's bunkmates repeat rumors about this place being evil and ""not right."" Although the tensions between them increase as the narrative continues, the scares take their time to manifest, which may frustrate readers who want to know what's at stake up-front and in a more engaging way. Readers who enjoyed Nick Cutter's The Troop (2014) may enjoy Wilderness Reform; it already has a film deal in the works, even before its release.

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June 24, 2024
The Query brothers follow Old Country with another spine-tingling suspense novel, this time centered on a wilderness reform school. In Lafitte, La., 13-year-old Ben Thibodaux is arrested for robbing a gas station with a fake gun. Rather than sending Ben to juvenile detention—where he’d happily reunite with several friends—a judge ships him to Bear Springs Academy in Montana. Ben’s fierce objections to being sent away grow more pronounced when he arrives and gets strange vibes from the program director, Reid, and the counselors assigned to whip Ben into shape. While learning to fly fish and build fires, Ben forms alliances with other boys in his cabin, many of whom also sense unease beneath their counselors’ placid smiles. After former campers warn Ben and his new friends that there’s evil coursing through the camp, the boys prepare to fight an otherwordly enemy. While the setup is familiar and the pacing is leisurely, the Querys set themselves apart with sterling prose (a muffled scream sounds “like the mountains themselves threw a wet, lead blanket over chaos”) and three-dimensional characters. Not every reader will stick around until the action heats up, but supernatural thriller fans will find plenty to enjoy. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary.