Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

 

Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi, 335 pages ⭐⭐⭐

St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys. Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania. Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future... a family. Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides. Others turn up dead. Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives — and perhaps their eternal souls — are at risk.

I went in to this book with very high hopes. I read a lot of horror so I tend to be picky of the genre, and this one sounded amazing and checked all my boxes! Remote location, winter setting, religious horror? I love all of those things! Unfortunately the story fell flat for me. We read from multiple POVs with no indicator at the start of the chapter for who we're reading from, and that made the story feel very jarring and disjointed. The ambience was great, but the pacing felt off and ultimately fell flat for me in the end. But I'm giving it 3 stars still because I enjoyed the ambience, the horror was scary at times, and I adore this cover!