Pyres

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Description

In Pyres, 15-year-old Lucia Moberg lifts a CD out of a store in a shopping mall - and when she and her dad get into their car, there is a tap at the window. The next second her father's brains are on the dashboard.So begins the story of the ruin of her mother, whose home life is shrouded in darkness; a mysterious and menacing motorcycle gang; the real-to-life female cop out to crack the case, who is facing her own family's collapse; and the struggle for Lucia to piece together some semblance of a normal teenage life.The writing is hard and crisp, and wholly multi-dimensional, while the story moves along at a nail-biting pace with twists, turns, literary allusions, and the engaging plight of several fascinating, memorable, and fully rounded characters.

Reviews

"Nikitas' stellar first novel isn't just one of the best genre debuts of the year, it's one of the best releases -- period." --The Chicago Tribune

"Part whodunnit, part horror story, with a pinch of the supernatural, Nikitas's debut novel is not your average mystery... This is a genre-stretching narrative where the bad guys are human, the good guys are flawed, and rescue arrives late if at all. It is also literary, gripping, and very real; Nikitas captures the voices of his three female protagonists with compelling accuracy." --Library Journal

"A harrowing debut novel in which a girl who witnesses the brutal murder of her father learns the worst is yet to come... The prose is admirable, the mood pure Ingmar Bergman. Proceed with caution." --Kirkus Reviews

"A heartbreaking coming-of-age story and a gripping pyschological thriller." --Booklist

"A stylish, assured voice that depicts his characters in every harsh, flattering, beautiful light and shows how a single, seemingly random event has the effect of converging the lives of disparate and damaged people." --Sarah Weinman

"A fever dream and a waking nightmare--a hypnotic, sophisticated descent into hell. Nikitas is the heir apparent to Joyce Carol Oates." --Marcus Sakey, THE BLADE ITSELF

"Derek owes me a night's sleep...Loved it! That opening chapter shocked me rigid.... Are you sure this is a debut The writing is to roar for and loud and triumphant. Just a marvelous, wonderful book!" --Ken Bruen

Author Bio

Derek Nikitas had had several stories published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, The Ontario Review, Chelsea, and The Pedestal Magazine. He has a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a PhD in Creative Writing at Georgia State University, where he is currently studying.