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It is 2015. Acelia Elliot is in a
lockdown mental facility. How she lands there follows from a bizarre
set of circumstances that has everything to do with a mysterious doll,
a mirrored wardrobe, and a historic home, Saint Josephine’s School for
Girls, located near her family’s home. Florence attended that school
back in 1861. How she arrives at the horrid nun-based institution is
equally bizarre. It is during her time there that she encounters both
the doll and the wardrobe, and also learns that the doll once belonged
to a girl who attended the school in the 1720s. Although there is a
span of over one hundred fifty years between Florence and Acelia, the
girls experience the same things: dark shadows, nightmares, and
haunting voices. Whether or not the girls can face or are engulfed by
their surrounding fears remains to be seen.
Rising author Kassandra Patti produces a modern-day Twilight Zone
tale in her chilling debut. Patti’s elusive plot continuously shifts
first person narratives between Acelia’s and Florence’s present and
past accounts while punctuating the girls’ stories with an ominous
presence. The latter is also written in first person POV and placed
within chapters set to nefarious-laced Latin titles. Patti grabs the
attention of her audience from the get-go by maintaining a fluid plot
that couples her unnerving novel with engaging storytelling,
well-defined character development, short cliffhanging chapters, a
flurry of twists, and a slow but steady revelation of narrative clues.
Unpredictability is a principle literary tool used throughout Patti's
storyline. Scenes are a mix of situations riddled with terror in one
form or other. A well-written debut, The Chosen
is not only a perfect psychological thriller, but also it has Silver
Screen potential. Bound to become a favorite among thriller aficionados!
RECOMMENDED by the US Review