'A Child Alone with Strangers' lingers long after the last page

“At this point, panic has taken off its coat, kicked off its shoes, pulled up a seat, smiled that maniacal smile, the one showing too many bright white teeth, to let you know it really likes it here, and it’s decided to stay a while.”

— “A Child Alone with Strangers,”

by Philip Fracassi

With Halloween just around the corner, readers are searching for the perfect book to pair with a chilly October night, and Philip Fracassi delivers exactly that.

Fracassi’s 800-page novel, “A Child Alone with Strangers,” is one of Books on the Bosque’s top-selling horror titles for good reason. Fracassi, a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author, has made his name with acclaimed story collections like “Behold the Void,” “No One is Safe” and “Beneath a Pale Sky,” named Best Collection of the Year by Rue Morgue Magazine. His work has appeared in major outlets such as Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine and Cemetery Dance, earning him comparisons to the greats of modern horror.

However, “A Child Alone with Strangers” may be his most ambitious work to date. The novel begins with the brutal death of young Henry Thorne’s father — a tragedy that nearly kills Henry as well. At just 9 years old, Henry is left vulnerable, grieving and soon abducted. Held ransom in an abandoned farmhouse deep in the woods, Henry’s struggle for survival becomes the central thread of the story.

Fracassi masterfully shifts perspectives between characters — Henry, his kidnappers, investigators and parental guardians — to immerse the reader in a world of corruption, cruelty and creeping supernatural menace. What begins as a crime-thriller quickly mutates into something darker and more otherworldly. At its heart lies Henry’s strange and extraordinary gift. Weaving supernatural and sci-fi, something is haunting the farmhouse and is communicating with Henry. Something so dark, it unsettles not only his captors, but the very structure of the narrative itself.

The novel carries an undeniable echo of Stephen King’s classic horror, blending nostalgic “old-school” chills with contemporary grit. Yet what sets Fracassi apart is his ability to balance horror with humanity. Readers will find themselves feeling not only fear and revulsion, but also startling compassion — even for the most flawed, reprehensible characters.

Fracassi doesn’t simply traffic in nightmare fuel, he delivers a study in empathy, resilience and the strange ways in which darkness can illuminate the human condition. “A Child Alone with Strangers” is harrowing, unsettling and deeply moving — a novel that lingers long after the last page has been turned.

This Halloween, if you’re ready to lose sleep, let Fracassi be your guide.

Desiree Condit is the co-owner, store manager and web designer of Books on the Bosque, located at 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane, Suite A-2, or at booksonthebosque.com.