About the Author

When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night.

Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

Reviews

"This engaging read is plot-driven and action-packed." -- School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Maya and her friends are no ordinary teenagers. Maya is a Skinwalker, an ancient being with the ability to transform into a cougar. And her friends have special powers as well. All this is part of a top-secret genetic experiment. Having survived a forest fire, a kidnapping, and a deadly helicopter crash, the teens face their greatest challenge yet-the vast and dangerous Vancouver Island wilderness. With both the Nasts and the St. Clouds hot on their trail, the teens' only hope is to find their way home to Salmon Creek. But rather than sanctuary, they find an abandoned town. When one of them miraculously returns from the grave, they realize too late that they've walked into a trap. Left alone in the aftermath, Maya must rescue her friends and find a way for them all to return to their families. But could this undertaking be too great-even for someone with Maya's unique abilities? Kelley Armstrong proves a true master of the paranormal genre with this gripping follow-up (2012) to The Gathering (2011, both HarperCollins). Well-rounded characters leap from the page, and the suspense builds. Jennifer Ikeda's expert interpretation of the text breathes further life into this already vibrant tale. A cliffhanger will have listeners eagerly awaiting the final installment of this trilogy. Give this to fans of Amanda Hocking and Karsten Knight.-Alissa J. Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.