Join us Friday, September 27 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to celebrate recent books by local authors Monique Asher and Meriam Metoui. Asher’s debut novel Don’t Eat the Pie is published September 24, and Metoui’s newest novel Portrait of a Shadow was published in July. There will be a talk by each author and Q&A, with a signing and refreshments to follow.
This event is free and open to the public. Please email bookbeatorders@gmail.com or call us at 248-968-1190 for more information.
Don’t Eat the Pie
Monique Asher
Rising Action Publishing
In Don’t Eat the Pie, readers are transported to the hauntingly picturesque Camillia Island, where gothic horror meets family drama, unraveling the sinister secrets behind a mother and daughter’s summer that promises to be as unsettling as it is compelling for fans of Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier.
Newlywed Sam has always wanted to be a part of a normal happy family.
When her mother-in-law falls ill, Sam dutifully moves her family to Edenic Camillia Island to care for her. The island residents, namely the older women, welcome Sam and her daughter Emma with open arms, endless cocktails, and plenty of superstition.
It seems perfect until it’s not. The house next to her mother-in-law’s is creepy–not only that, it’s where Ben’s first wife died.
Sam’s teen daughter Emma isn’t interested in spending the summer in Camillia. It gets even worse when Emma starts to see things–knowing that there are ghosts trying to warn her of something, but what?
Despite Emma’s pleas, Sam doesn’t want to rock the boat with her new family. Emma won’t pretend nothing is happening, especially as the messages become more grim and frequent. What secrets are buried on Camillia Island? And why are all the residents keen on keeping them quiet?
Monique Asher is an American author who writes horror novels. She is a member of the HWA. Monique is a trauma survivor and a therapist. Her personal experience with trauma injects reality into the stories she writes. She lives in Southeastern Michigan with her family and a small zoo that often come along on trips to haunted hotels and dark twisty wilderness. Don’t Eat the Pie is her debut novel.
Portrait of a Shadow
Meriam Metoui
Henry Holt & Company
A missing sister. A mysterious boy. And a painting that holds the truth beneath its peeling edge…
Inez is missing, but missing things can always be found.
Mae knows this as a fact, even though the police investigation has come to a standstill, even though her parents are moving on. But when she goes to clear out her older sister’s studio, she finds a mess of research and a white canvas that seems even older than the ornate frame it is set in. The closer Mae gets to the canvas, the more difficult it is to pull her eyes away from its mottled surface, its heavy layers of white paint, its peeling top corner she is tempted to pull to see what’s beneath. But she doesn’t. Not yet.
Mae decides to trace her sister’s last steps in the hopes of finding answers, certain that Inez’s disappearance is related to the painting. And she knows she is desperate enough to let the strange boy who claims to have been Inez’s neighbor tag along. Even if his good looks don’t help distract from his avoidance of her questions. So begins a scavenger hunt piecing together what they can find from what Inez left behind. One that leads to centuries-old questions best left unasked and secrets best kept in the dark.
From the author of A Guide to the Dark comes another romantic and eerie mystery about the lengths we are willing to go for the truth and the ones we love.
Meriam Metoui is a writer, book editor, and (when she has the time) a photographer. She graduated from the University of Michigan and Hunter College, where she received a master’s degree in English literature. Born in Tunisia, she now lives in Detroit, Michigan with her partner and puppy. A Guide to the Dark is her debut novel.