May 1, 2023
Dead Eleven is a creepy, fast-paced blast from the past that unfolds in a place where every year is 1994, an obsession bordering on cultlike infatuation by residents terrified of an ancient, otherworldly power. Willow Stone finds herself drawn to the mysterious, tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula. In her search for answers and a fresh start after a family tragedy, she suddenly goes missing, leaving her concerned brother, Harper, tracking her whereabouts. What follows is a clever compilation of events in the form of unsent letters, character recollections, chat and interview transcripts, and journal articles detailing the islanders' bizarre beliefs and the eerie circumstances surrounding Willow's disappearance. Underneath the VHS tapes and whitewash jeans lies the truth to Clifford Island, but is the danger of uncovering fervently guarded secrets worth it? Harper wants to know, and he'll stop at nothing to find Willow, dead or alive. Juliano comes as a new voice in horror, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Grady Hendrix, and Paul Tremblay.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
May 15, 2023
On an insular island in Lake Michigan, a mother mourning her dead son finds a community apparently frozen in time in this supernatural-thriller debut. When sports journalist Harper's sister goes missing on Clifford Island, he is determined to find her. Clifford is an anomaly in an otherwise-popular tourist area in northeast Wisconsin: no ferry goes there, and there's no information about it to be found in the usual brochures and publications. Also, any online information about the island appears to be swiftly deleted. With this intriguing setup, the novel kicks off with an attention-grabbing scene in which the daily routines of two elderly neighbors on Clifford Island are permanently disrupted: One of them doesn't appear at their usual time, leading to a hilarious set piece involving a corpse, zip ties, a carpenter just trying to rev up his old Dodge truck, and the involvement of the local sheriff. It's a virtuoso scene that recalls the heady, charged atmosphere of horror-comedy movies such as Lake Placid (1999). Around the same time, Harper's sister, Willow, a grieving mother, comes across the words Clifford Island written on the floor under her dead son's toy chest and decides to go there. Her gradual recognition that something is rotten in the state of Clifford is perfectly and sinisterly paced: Why, she wonders, does everyone drive old bangers around? And why is everyone so fascinated by the 1994 O.J. Simpson car chase? Told from various characters' perspectives--including those of Harper, Willow, and Lily, a Clifford resident and high school basketball player--the paranormal-infused revelations toward the end of the book come thick, thorny, and fast--so much so that by the denouement, unfortunately, the story has lost much of its propulsive steam. A tension-fraught horror story that starts with a bang but ends with a whimper.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from May 29, 2023
The less readers know before diving into Juliano’s breathtaking debut thriller, the better. Journalist Harper Coates has come to Lake Michigan’s Clifford Island in search of his missing younger sister, Willow, whose life has been imploding since the accidental death of her young son 18 months earlier. Harper doesn’t know what drew Willow, a former high school English teacher in Illinois, to this peculiar place that actively discourages tourism, or why the insular locals seem obsessed with the year 1994 and insist on keeping their curtains closed at night. The terrifying reality of what the islanders are hiding—and hiding from—emerges through skillfully interwoven accounts from Harper, Willow, and Lily, a rebellious high school senior on the island whom Willow befriends before her disappearance. Juliano draws memorable characters and places them in an indelible setting, using artful prose and judicious dashes of dark humor to leave a major impression. It’s a scary-good debut. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary.
June 16, 2023
DEBUT On Clifford Island, a mysterious locale off the coast of Wisconsin, things are not what they seem. Stuck in a time capsule, residents live as if it were 1994, eschewing modern technology and outsiders. When a reporter's sister goes missing after running away to Clifford Island, he feels compelled to investigate. What he finds is nothing short of a nightmare. Wary of strangers, the lives of the island dwellers are ruled by suspicion and superstition, and Harper, the reporter, is determined to get to the bottom of their lore. But he isn't the only one on the island questioning their beliefs. Can the mythology on the island be true? Unfortunately, the first-person narrative, combined with letters, emails, and interviews, makes the plot feel disjointed, and the ending may leave readers uninspired. VERDICT An optional purchase for horror collections.--Alana Quarles
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.