First, I have to say that I’m really glad that this is being marketed as horror and not Young Adult, despite the main cast all being teenagers. There’s quite a bit of graphic stuff in here that probably isn’t suitable for the fade-to-black nature of the YA genre, and the last thing anyone needs is for readers to feel betrayed by reasonably expecting one thing and getting another instead.
That said, this is classic horror a la Psycho or American Psycho (which always amuses me as a title because it’s not like Alfred Hitchcock’s version was German or something.) You have a terrible person at its heart, with supernatural elements adorning the story. But really the book is about our heroine Leslie Moore and the villain set on claiming her for himself, her twin sister’s boyfriend Beau Devereaux.
The Devereaux family essentially owns the small Louisiana town of St Benedict, located on the banks of the Bogue Falaya River. Beau, the high school quarterback, straight-A student and all-around golden boy, is basically their town’s crown prince. Dawn Moore has been in love with him since ninth grade, and leaps at the chance to be his girlfriend. As the pretty, popular captain of the cheerleading squad, she seems like the perfect match for Beau.
Trouble is, he really wants her quiet, serious sister Leslie, and is only putting up with Dawn because being with her helps burnish his unassailable reputation. This would be awkward enough even if Beau weren’t a straight-up psychopath. He uses every opportunity he can to get close to Leslie and say awful, degrading things to her, then turns around and tells Dawn that Leslie is coming on to him. This naturally creates a rift between the sisters.