Literature & Fiction
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The Fear
The instant USA TODAY bestseller!
Hot on the heels of the New York Times bestsellers The Twin and The Lake, the undisputed queen of YA thrillers is back.
Don't be afraid. Be terrified.
It's just a stupid meme that's going around their small fishing town in the dead of winter-people reposting and sharing their biggest fear. But when her classmates start turning up dead-dying in the way that they said scared them the most-Izzy knows it's no joke.
With each death hitting closer to home, Izzy sets out to try to stop the killer. Could her older sister's friend Tristan have something to do with the deaths? He's given her some strange vibes. Or what about his brooding cousin, Axel? But he's in her classes at school. He's not a murderer . . . is he? Izzie's soon on a path that will lead her right to the killer . . . and her own worst nightmare.
Hot on the heels of the New York Times bestsellers The Twin and The Lake, the undisputed queen of YA thrillers is back.
Don't be afraid. Be terrified.
It's just a stupid meme that's going around their small fishing town in the dead of winter-people reposting and sharing their biggest fear. But when her classmates start turning up dead-dying in the way that they said scared them the most-Izzy knows it's no joke.
With each death hitting closer to home, Izzy sets out to try to stop the killer. Could her older sister's friend Tristan have something to do with the deaths? He's given her some strange vibes. Or what about his brooding cousin, Axel? But he's in her classes at school. He's not a murderer . . . is he? Izzie's soon on a path that will lead her right to the killer . . . and her own worst nightmare.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for The Fear:
A USA TODAY bestseller!
"This fast-paced thriller will keep readers guessing."--Kirkus
A USA TODAY bestseller!
"This fast-paced thriller will keep readers guessing."--Kirkus
Readers Top Reviews
KEVIN PHAMimpossi
GREAT BOOK AND PLOT TWISTS, LOVED IT BECAUSE IT WAS FAST-PACED
Everything she writes is amazing and this is no exception. I was not prepared for the twists and turns that she wrote but I’m so glad I read it all. 10/10 I HIGHLY recommend 😍
Rose KEVIN PHAM
Natasha did it again! Another amazing thriller than kept me on the edge of my seat. This page turner was everything I expected from a Natasha Preston book.
Northwest Swim Sh
This was one of her “slower” books but it will still leave you on the edge of your seat with a twist ending that ends on a cliff hanger that will leave your imagination running wild
Billie MunsonNort
The book was very fast-paced and I was reading in-between the lines to figure out who the killer is. I was tossed between the three suspects and the possibility of it being a woman. I already read Natasha's other books and I know she loves to throw her reader through a loop with twists and cliffhangers. She did an amazing job by using the killer perspective in the beginning to get the reader hooked. It is a cliffhanger and most of her books are. The last paragraph was definitely surprising!
Short Excerpt Teaser
one
Izzy
Snow coats the ground like a fluffy blanket. It looks beautiful, like thousands of tiny crystals that glisten in the sun. But it also conceals what could be underneath.
Last winter it took two months-until the snow finally melted-to find my neighbor's dead dog. Two full months that little terrier had been lying there, just yards from their front door.
Anything could be lurking under the snow.
We have a couple of months left of freezing conditions, but the air has been warming. Not quite enough to make the snow melt or stop it from falling, but just enough so that I don't feel like I'm being punched in the lungs every time I step outside.
I walk to my car and immediately blast the heat. The roads are clear, as they're plowed regularly, giving the impression that they've been carved out of the ten inches of snow that frames them.
More storms are in the forecast.
The sun is up, but gray clouds stop it from making an appearance. January is perpetual nighttime in our little fishing town. When my car is warm, I flick the lights on and back out of the driveway. Luckily, my dad shoveled yesterday, or I'd be late to school.
I better get accepted into Florida State. No more freezing air, no more winter coats and woolly hats, and no more wondering if there's anything dead under the snow.
My sister, Lia, escaped to college in North Carolina last year, and she's enjoying the warmer climate-and the food-immensely.
It's senior year, and I still haven't gotten Justin Rae to notice that I exist or told my best friend, Sydney-Syd-that I don't really like going to parties, the mall, or any other place she drags me to.
We're supposed to be going to Mariella Whitmore's party tonight. Rich girl, wants to marry a billionaire, says "like" a lot-you know the type.
Lia calls me a shadow person because I follow silently and never stick up for myself.
I'd be offended if it weren't completely true.
My car rumbles as I pull into the parking lot. I park in the same spot as always, Lia's old one.
I check myself out in the visor mirror. My complexion is fair, clear skin and rosy cheeks that I'm so grateful for, because I'm terrible at applying makeup. My hair is naturally wavy, which suits me just fine, because I prefer to sleep in rather than waking early to style it. I have the same hazel eyes as my sister, though my left eye has a ton of green specks. Syd says it's cool, and I've grown to like it.
I close the mirror and grab my backpack.
Rock Bay High has been my home for the last three and a half years. The town used to be named Rock Bass Bay, but they dropped the "Bass" years ago in an attempt to sound less fishy. Now we sound much cooler than we are.
It didn't help, though. Thanks to bigger ports in the state, this still isn't a town you come to unless you live here.
"Izzy!" Syd says, pulling my car door open as if it's on fire. Frozen air hits me instantly. "What took you so long?"
Startled, I look at the time on my dash. "I'm actually earlier than-"
"Forget it. Have you heard? Justin dumped Gemma. He's back on the market!"
That would be awesome news if I had even a hint of a shot with him.
"I don't care," I tell her.
"Sure you don't." She rolls her incredible sage eyes and scrolls her phone.
Syd's tall, has smooth, dark skin, full lips, stunning shoulder-length curls, and the biggest smile. We've been inseparable since freshman year.
"You should go for it, Iz."
Justin has never given me a second glance with his pretty green eyes.
She gasps as if she's just remembered something. "Hey, have you seen this? It's everywhere right now."
She shoves her screen in my face as I get out of the car. I blink and rear my head back. "Well, I can't see it from three inches in front of my face, can I?" I push the phone back.
"See."
"A new meme? A game? Fear what? What am I looking at, Syd?"
There's a picture of a frozen red rose on a snowy dock. Some of the petals have broken off and are scattered around it. Text sits over the image:
REPOST WITH YOUR DEATH FEAR!
If death came for you today, what would be the worst way to go? #thefear
"That's not at all creepy-wait, is this a picture of our dock?" I look over my shoulder in the direction of the port, though school is nowhere near it. Then I look back at the picture. Yeah, it definitely is. The wooden post behind the flower looks just like the one at Puck's, the local diner. It even has the initials of the owner, Matthew, and a hockey puck carved into it.
No wonder everyone around here is going extra crazy for this challenge. They think someone we know created it.
"That's t...
Izzy
Snow coats the ground like a fluffy blanket. It looks beautiful, like thousands of tiny crystals that glisten in the sun. But it also conceals what could be underneath.
Last winter it took two months-until the snow finally melted-to find my neighbor's dead dog. Two full months that little terrier had been lying there, just yards from their front door.
Anything could be lurking under the snow.
We have a couple of months left of freezing conditions, but the air has been warming. Not quite enough to make the snow melt or stop it from falling, but just enough so that I don't feel like I'm being punched in the lungs every time I step outside.
I walk to my car and immediately blast the heat. The roads are clear, as they're plowed regularly, giving the impression that they've been carved out of the ten inches of snow that frames them.
More storms are in the forecast.
The sun is up, but gray clouds stop it from making an appearance. January is perpetual nighttime in our little fishing town. When my car is warm, I flick the lights on and back out of the driveway. Luckily, my dad shoveled yesterday, or I'd be late to school.
I better get accepted into Florida State. No more freezing air, no more winter coats and woolly hats, and no more wondering if there's anything dead under the snow.
My sister, Lia, escaped to college in North Carolina last year, and she's enjoying the warmer climate-and the food-immensely.
It's senior year, and I still haven't gotten Justin Rae to notice that I exist or told my best friend, Sydney-Syd-that I don't really like going to parties, the mall, or any other place she drags me to.
We're supposed to be going to Mariella Whitmore's party tonight. Rich girl, wants to marry a billionaire, says "like" a lot-you know the type.
Lia calls me a shadow person because I follow silently and never stick up for myself.
I'd be offended if it weren't completely true.
My car rumbles as I pull into the parking lot. I park in the same spot as always, Lia's old one.
I check myself out in the visor mirror. My complexion is fair, clear skin and rosy cheeks that I'm so grateful for, because I'm terrible at applying makeup. My hair is naturally wavy, which suits me just fine, because I prefer to sleep in rather than waking early to style it. I have the same hazel eyes as my sister, though my left eye has a ton of green specks. Syd says it's cool, and I've grown to like it.
I close the mirror and grab my backpack.
Rock Bay High has been my home for the last three and a half years. The town used to be named Rock Bass Bay, but they dropped the "Bass" years ago in an attempt to sound less fishy. Now we sound much cooler than we are.
It didn't help, though. Thanks to bigger ports in the state, this still isn't a town you come to unless you live here.
"Izzy!" Syd says, pulling my car door open as if it's on fire. Frozen air hits me instantly. "What took you so long?"
Startled, I look at the time on my dash. "I'm actually earlier than-"
"Forget it. Have you heard? Justin dumped Gemma. He's back on the market!"
That would be awesome news if I had even a hint of a shot with him.
"I don't care," I tell her.
"Sure you don't." She rolls her incredible sage eyes and scrolls her phone.
Syd's tall, has smooth, dark skin, full lips, stunning shoulder-length curls, and the biggest smile. We've been inseparable since freshman year.
"You should go for it, Iz."
Justin has never given me a second glance with his pretty green eyes.
She gasps as if she's just remembered something. "Hey, have you seen this? It's everywhere right now."
She shoves her screen in my face as I get out of the car. I blink and rear my head back. "Well, I can't see it from three inches in front of my face, can I?" I push the phone back.
"See."
"A new meme? A game? Fear what? What am I looking at, Syd?"
There's a picture of a frozen red rose on a snowy dock. Some of the petals have broken off and are scattered around it. Text sits over the image:
REPOST WITH YOUR DEATH FEAR!
If death came for you today, what would be the worst way to go? #thefear
"That's not at all creepy-wait, is this a picture of our dock?" I look over my shoulder in the direction of the port, though school is nowhere near it. Then I look back at the picture. Yeah, it definitely is. The wooden post behind the flower looks just like the one at Puck's, the local diner. It even has the initials of the owner, Matthew, and a hockey puck carved into it.
No wonder everyone around here is going extra crazy for this challenge. They think someone we know created it.
"That's t...
