BOOK REVIEW | BOYS IN THE VALLEY | PHILIP FRACASSI
BOOK REVIEW | BOYS IN THE VALLEY | PHILIP FRACASSI SETUP After witnessing his parents’ murder-suicide, Peter is shipped off to a remote Catholic boys’ home. When a chained stranger arrives, something follows—and a corruption spreads through the children. Cut off from the outside world, Peter must save the few still untouched before the orphanage tears itself apart. REVIEW Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi is one of those bleak, heavy horror reads that just kind of sits on your chest the whole time—in a good way. The setting alone does a lot of the work: a remote Catholic orphanage, cut off from everything, with this constant sense that something is wrong from the start. The atmosphere is easily the strongest part of the book. It’s tense, oppressive, and filled with religious imagery that makes everything feel even more unsettling. Fracassi really nails the fear and confusion of the boys. Their reactions feel believable, and that emotional core kept me invested. That said, not...
