The Thicket

Everyone will hear you scream. No one will listen.

Norah can’t stop thinking about the night her brother died. She was supposed to stay with him at the Halloween carnival. He’d begged her to stay. But they’d fought, and Norah left him alone in the woods.

That was before she realized there was a real killer lurking among the costumes and macabre props.

When the carnival reopens just weeks later amid a media controversy, Norah decides to retrace her brother’s last steps in a desperate attempt to unravel what really happened that night.

But the woods hold more than just traumatic memories.

Before long, Norah begins to suspect that the killer's choice of hunting ground was no coincidence.

And that this nightmare is far from over.

    1. This book plays with classic slasher tropes. How does Norah embody or subvert the typical “final girl” in horror stories?

    2. The book blurs the line between staged and real violence. Where else does this conflict show up in modern life?

    3. The story occasionally shifts into the killer’s perspective. How effective did you find this in terms of building tension? Would you have liked more insight into the killer’s motives?

    4. Throughout the book, characters are faced with decisions that test their morality, especially in the context of the killings. Were there any choices made by the characters that you strongly agreed or disagreed with? How would you have acted in their place?

    5. After the murder in the Thicket, the attraction becomes more popular, with people drawn to the “real horror.” What does this say about the role of media and sensationalism in today’s society? How do you think the book comments on the public's fascination with true crime?