Alex Van Tol

Caught for a prank he was not involved in, new-kid, good-boy Elliot must clean out the school’s boathouse with multiply-pierced, Goth girl, Shannon as punishment. They are serving their sentence late on a Friday afternoon and the boathouse looks creepy in the fading light which sets the stage for a scary story. A fairly predictable plotline follows with the polar opposites making assumptions about each other. After Shannon finds half of a best friend necklace, the door to the boathouse slams shut even though it was propped open with a brick. Shannon thinks she feels a “presence” in the boathouse and suggests they make a Ouiji Board to communicate with it. They discover the spirit of a murdered girl who demands that they solve the mystery of her death. Written for reluctant readers there are short chapters, a lot of dialogue, and short paragraphs with enough creepiness to keep readers on the edge of their seat.… (more)

High school pranks are fun and mostly harmless, right? Just a rite of innocent passage... When Shannon and her goth friends botch a stupid prank that involved hiding the principal's Smart Car in the woods, Shannon is deserted by her "friends" as the ploy is about to be discovered. New student, Elliot hears the commotion, thinking someone needs help. Upon investigating,
Elliot is mistaken for Shannon's accomplice. Elliot is a good boy, a rule follower and he is not happy his first impressions at this school have gone so awry. As part of their punishment, the pair is tasked to clean up the school boathouse. Should be an easy enough task, they figure: chuck all the broken stuff, organize whatever still works and get the weekend underway. as they work, Shannon feels an eerie presence in the boathouse and somehow convinces Elliot to investigate her feelings with a Ouija board she makes from items found in the boathouse. This is when things take a turn for the horrifying. When the pair accidentally unleash a dark force, they find themselves caught up in a mystery that must be solved if they have any hope of escape.

This was a short, but a suspenseful read middle school students will enjoy reading and ask for more.
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The title for Dead Man’s Curve by Alex Van Tol made me curious, so here I am, telling you about this horrifying novella. Like a true horror story, I knew it would not end well.

The kids were taking a shortcut home after the Halloween party. Hmmm, think something wicked this way comes.

After hitting someone or something and hearing a cry, they search the woods. Oh no, we all know not to go there!!

Blaire Witch meet Stephen King. I was already leery of clowns and this only reinforced it.

Wait..is that the house settling, or…

Alex Van Tol grabbed me, twisted me, not letting me go until I found all the answers.

Dead Man’s Curve was not what I thought it would be and the ending only confirmed Alex Van Tol’s ability to take a rollercoaster of a ride horror story to a frightening level. And, no, I did not figure it out until the very end. He totally surprised me and the ending left me flabbergasted. Great job, Alex!

I received a free copy of Dead Man’s Curve from Alex Van Tol.

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