J. Kent Messum

From award-winning author J. Kent Messum, a serial killer thriller for fans of The Straw Men and The Shining Girls.LIFE GOES ONFor a lucky few, death is merely an inconvenience. With the help of technology the mind can survive long after a body has been laid to rest. This afterlife, however, is far from paradise... MAKING A LIVING Rhodes is a 'Husk'. It's an illegal, controversial and highly lucrative job - renting out control of his body and mind to the highest bidder. It's a sure way to gain a better life, but some clients go too far. Sometimes, he wakes up with scars. MAKING A KILLINGThen the visions start - terrible sights that haunt his waking hours. They could be dreams, or they could be something far worse - they just might be memories... Praise for J. Kent Messum:'Raw, visceral, powerful ... may just make you question what it is to be human' Nick Cutter'Pacy and surprising, Husk is a showcase for a wild and frightening imagination' Andrew Pyper'Disturbing, pulse-pounding and utterly surprising' Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Dare Me'The stakes could be no higher in this crisply written, fast-paced novel that examines the shifting line between right and wrong, good and evil ... Will keep readers turning pages late into the night' Lori Roy, Edgar-Award-winning author of Bent Road and Until She Comes Home 'A powerhouse debut ... A mesmerizing, one-sitting read' Steve Ulfelder, Edgar-Award finalist author of Purgatory Chasm and The Whole Lie

Bait is J. Kent Messum's thrilling story of survival and sanity strained to its limits.Please know that no one will be coming to your aidMuch effort has been made to ensure thisSix strangers wake up on a remote, deserted island, with no memory of their arrival. They appear to have been chosen at random. One of the castaways finds a letter they learn that there only chance of escape is to another island just a mile away. Across some of the most dangerous, shark-infested waters in the world. The letter ends with one simple instruction: begin when you wish. As the group are forces to face their darkest fears they will be pushed to the very edge of sanity. The odds against survival are long. From aboard a yacht anchored offshore, a group of shadowy figures watches them. And waits . . .Tightly plotted and brilliantly imagined, Bait marks the debut of the exciting new thriller talent, J. Kent Messum. Fans of Irvine Welsh, Suzanne Collins and hit TV show Lost will be hooked by his story.Praise for Bait:'Reading J. Kent Messum's Bait is like taking a high dive into black water. What you find in its murky depths is disturbing, pulse-pounding and utterly surprising. An exhilarating debut' - Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me 'The stakes could be no higher in this crisply written, fast-paced novel that examines the shifting line between right and wrong, good and evil. Bait will keep readers turning pages late into the night' - Lori Roy, author of Bent Road and Until She Comes Home'Jaws meets Lord of the Flies meets Drugstore Cowboy! A powerhouse debut. The horror dawns on the reader as it dawns on the characters, making for a mesmerizing, one-sitting read.' - Steve Ulfelder, author of Purgatory Chasm and The Whole LieJ. Kent Messum is a British-Canadian writer living in Toronto. Bait is his first novel.

No one is coming to your aid. We have ensured this. Six strangers wake up on a remote island in the Florida Keys with no memory of their arrival. They soon discover their common bond: all of them are heroin addicts. As the first excruciating pangs of withdrawal make themselves felt, the six notice a yacht anchored across open water. On it lurk four shadowy figures, protected by the hungry sharks that patrol the waves. So begins a dangerous game. The six must undertake the impossible--swim to the next island where a cache of heroin awaits, or die trying. When alliances form, betrayal is inevitable. As the fight to survive intensifies, the stakes reach terrifying heights--and their captors' motives finally begin to emerge.