Today's Read: Revelation by Carter Wilson

What if your very life, and maybe that of your girlfriend, depended on your ability to tell a story? When Harden awakes on the dirt floor of a cell, apparently kidnapped by his psychopath college roommate, he realizes that's exactly what he's going to have to do.

Harden opened his eyes to blackness just as something began crawling into his mouth.

He slapped at his lips, bringing a brilliant flash of pain to an injury already there. He turned his head and spit twice into the dark, into the dank space surrounding him, hoping to eject whatever creature was reaching into his mouth. Spider. Cockroach.

More pain, not just from his mouth. His face. Chest. Ribs.

—Revelation by Carter Wilson (Oceanview, 2017, opening lines)

Quick Facts

• Setting: 1990s
• Circumstances: Harden wakes up in a dark cell, after having been kidnapped by his megalomaniac college roommate. He finds a typewriter and a stack of paper with the instructions "Tell me a story" written on the first sheet. Harden interweaves his desperate writing with remembering how he met Coyote and how the deranged young man created a new religion and developed a cult following. But how can Harden know if his story will lead to his release and save the life of his girlfriend?
• Genre: thriller bordering on horror
• Themes: kidnapping, college, survival, cult religions
• Why I want to read this: Honestly, I'm not quite sure why I decided to put this novel on my list. I don't often do well with scary, and the thought of being kidnapped by someone I know is pretty terrifying. I think I was drawn to the book by the praise it's been getting for the writing style, character development, and unique plot.
• What reviews have said: Publisher's Weekly gave the novel a starred review, concluding that the author "infuses his terrifying plot with intricate twists and turns, all totally credible." The Big Thrill praises Wilson for taking readers into the characters' dark world.
• A bit about the author: Wilson has won many mystery / suspense / thriller awards for his previous books and has another new book coming out from Sourcebooks in February 2018.