In this shockingly fun wild ride of horrors, Sam Rebelein takes readers back to Renfield County and tells the story of two Rachels-one who mistakenly starts a cult at her local high school and one who tries to dismantle it ten years later.
2009: Rachel Galloway is bored in class. She spends the dreary fall days sketching in her notebook-adorable pigs munching on her boring teachers-and imagining a utopia where all the horrors of Burnskidde High School disappear. But when her classmates start to believe this utopia could be real, Galloway finds herself at the center of an elaborate, and quickly spreading, new religion. Before long, the town is split between believers and nonbelievers. As tensions rise and the rituals become more dangerous, Galloway can't be sure what's real and what's not, or who she can trust.
BURNSKIDDE: CULTWATCH
2019: This is the cryptic message that Renfield County Guard Rachel Durwood receives from her colleague Mark, mere days after he's disappeared. Mark's note leads Durwood to the town of Burnskidde, famously sealed off from the rest of the county ten years ago. Now, she discovers a small, insulated community preparing for the rapture and, seemingly, their collective demise. In order to save Burnskidde from itself, she must piece together the fallout from 2009 and avoid being swept up into the monstrous cult herself.
As Rachel Galloway watches her life spiral out of control, Rachel Durwood navigates a world where history, horror, and faith collide. Despite being separated by a decade, Galloway and Durwood may be closer to each other than they realize. But even together, will they be able to stop Burnskidde's impending doom?
"Rebelein's debut is its own wild and woolly beast, frequently unpredictable and frankly utterly insane at times... I hope I get to go back to Renfield County again, before too long." - Literary Hub
"There are many campus horror novels, but I think Edenville gets an A for AAAAAAIIIIIII! Sam Rebelein should be awarded a Master's Degree in SCARY. A major new talent!" - R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps and Fear Street
"Edenville marks a riveting debut that positions Rebelein as a noteworthy talent in the horror genre...an essential read for horror enthusiasts, especially fans of Grady Hendrix and Paul Tremblay." - Booklist
"[A]n entertainingly bonkers tale infused with so much unease and danger that it is literally dripping from Cam's eyes. It is a story that explores the cosmic and folk horror tropes to their furthest reaches while also providing a scathing critique of academia, especially MFA programs, all wrapped up in one wild ride of a read." - Library Journal
"A wild ride from start to finish, with a heavy dose of humor thrown into the mix." - Crime Reads
