Fairy Tale

I don’t read much horror but I’m so glad I listened to readers who described this as “a good story, well told.” Seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade has had a tough life: his mother was killed in an accident when he was young and his father retreated into alcoholism before finding a path to recovery. He ends up befriending a lonely old man named Mr. Bowditch and his dog Radar. When Mr. Bowditch is hospitalized, he pays Charlie to watch his dog and tend to the property. And when Mr. Bowditch dies, Charlie is shocked to learn that he’s inherited the house, a heap of gold, and a cassette tape telling an unbelievable story. Charlie now has access to a portal to a fantastical world and piles of gold. But Charlie’s not the only one who knows about either, which puts him in grave danger. Readers can trust that Radar will stick faithfully by his side through it all. (There are a handful of horror elements but this is not pure horror and it worked just fine for this scaredy cat.)