Shutter

December 22, 2014
Alameda makes a strong debut with this fast-paced urban fantasy/horror novel, which sees the last remnants of the Van Helsing and Stoker bloodlines running an organization dedicated to fighting the restless undead. When Micheline Helsing, daughter of the American branch’s leader, takes her team to confront a murderous ghost, all four of them are infected by a terrible curse that will kill them in under a week if they can’t find a cure. Unfortunately, Micheline’s father would rather put them in quarantine instead of help them. The crew goes on the run, and as they battle undead monsters, elude the living, and confront the sins of the past, they learn that the solution to their fatal dilemma may lay closer to home than they expected. Alameda’s worldbuilding is strong—this alternate version of San Francisco is dangerous and unpredictable—and her characters evoke shows like Buffy and Supernatural. The story has plenty of room to grow, and readers will be left eager to see what Alameda has in store next. Ages 13–up. Agent: John M. Cusick, Greenhouse Literary Agency.

November 15, 2014
Horror grips San Francisco when a murderous ghost eludes the Helsing Corps, a famed band of monster hunters.The last descendant of the Van Helsing of Dracula fame, Micheline disobeys her father when she runs alone into a haunted hospital, convinced she can exorcise the violent ghost that's taken over the pediatric ward. Instead, the ghost overpowers her, inflicting her and the three young colleagues who follow with deadly soulchains that will kill them all in seven days. Worse, the ghost knows Micheline's name. Escaping after her dad confines her to her room, she gathers her team and embarks on a mission to trap the ghost-a particularly strong one-by capturing it on film. Racing against time and the progression of the soulchains, Micheline and three other Helsing reapers desperately devise new methods to combat the ghost, even as other monsters get in their way. When Luca, a denizen of the plane between life and death called the Obscura, appears to Micheline with dubious advice on how to proceed, she has even more decisions to make. Alameda keeps the fear dripping from the walls as she plunges headlong into this full-scale thriller. She invents threatening and gruesome monsters, packs her heroes into seemingly inescapable plights, and adds mystery with the introduction of Luca and the identity of the terrifying ghost. There's even a bit of forbidden romance. A page-turner for thriller fans. (Horror. 13-18)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-A paranormal ghost-hunting story that is a standout in the genre. With the ability to see spiritual auras, Micheline and her tetrachromat crew are the fiercest cadets in the Helsing Corps, an organization with an illustrious history that specializes in dealing with the undead. However, when they aggressively enter a dangerous situation they are unable to control, each of them is infected with a soulchain that will turn deadly if they are unable to break it within seven days. Micheline is a strong character with sharp reflexes that allow her to trap the soul of an entity on film using her camera. Through detailed scientific processes that are richly explained, Alameda has created a unique world of ghosts, reapers, and exorcisms. The setting is vividly portrayed through detailed descriptions of the shadowy ghost world superimposed on the San Francisco cityscape. Though the plot is leisurely paced, allowing space for a forbidden love story, there is plenty of action. Frightening from the first page, this novel is sure to please horror fans, particularly those familiar with ghost and vampire legends.-Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Micheline, the last descendant in the Van Helsing line, has tetracromatic abilities, which allow her to see aural spectrums surrounding the dead and make her an unrivaled exorcist of ghosts. When a powerful entity goes on a murderous spree, Micheline and her team of fellow teens are first on the scene, but they quickly realize that they are in for more than a routine exorcism. This ghost knows Micheline by name and seems bent on revenge, infecting the four teens with deadly soulchains. They have just days to find and defeat the entity, otherwise the soulchains will pull them into the Obscura, locking them in the land of the undead forever. With deep roots in Bram Stoker's Dracula, this very modern horror tale features a gutsy heroine and endless buckets of gore. The world building can be frustratingly opaque, and the mechanics seem arbitrarily enforced, but Alameda excels at creating hideous creatures that are the stuff of nightmares. The rapid pacing, advanced technology, and limitless weapons just add appeal for readers seeking a supernatural thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)