Arden''s expert pacing and vivid descriptions ratchet up the tension deliciously, build eerie atmosphere, and make for some truly scary moments. If you haven''t picked up this series yet, now is the perfect time to do so, if only to suffer with us all through the wait for the final book.' - The Nerd Daily ' Genuinely spooky. Another deliciously hair-raising entry in a series that continues to make a huge splash.' - Kirkus Reviews 'Describing the creepy setting where all the action takes place with cinematic detail, Arden piles on the terror, weaving in Lake Champlain history and pirate lore.' - Buffalo News 'The ending definitely ramped up the stakes once more and I''m now anxiously awaiting the conclusion to this dark, creepy middle-grade series.

The deliberate pacing maintains a palpable sense of dread, equally anxiety-inducing and terrifying. Praise for Dark Waters: An Amazon Best Book - August 2021 'Arden skillfully blends a creature feature with a survival tale, taking the series into new territory without deviating from its successful formula. The summer nights are short, and Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Phil have only until sunrise to beat him once and for all-or it's game over for everyone. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie-but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man's carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg. Now it's Coco, Brian, and Phil's turn to make theirs. Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message.

He tells anyone who'll listen about the mysterious man who took him. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they'd have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever.

It's been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. New York Times bestselling author Katherine thrills once again in the finale to the critically acclaimed, spook-tacular quartet that began with Small Spaces.

Katherine arden small spaces book 4