“Litani” is a psychological thriller by Jess Lourey that centers around a sinister and mysterious activity called ‘The Game.’

When Frankie Jubilee, the young protagonist, moves to Litani, she hears whispers and innuendos about The Game from local kids who bully, tease, and harass her to participate.

Determined to uncover the truth behind the town's eerie atmosphere and this mysterious Game, Frankie accepts the invitation.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Jess Lourey, and Publisher Thomas & Mercer for this advanced reader's copy for review.

I remember the Satanic Panic but had not really thought about what it must have been like to live somewhere where the investigations were actually going on. This book does this from the perspective of a child, which makes it all the more powerful. Weaving in the complex and sad family back story, the author takes us through the Satanic Panic right to the prosecution and fall out for the “with hunt” approach of the prosecutor. A touching aside is the creation of The Book, in which the main character assigns a plant to each person she knows and draws them like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. Somehow the author brings the grim and devastating reality of child abuse to life without going into detail. She doesn’t need to. She creates the sense and feel of terror and despair without having to spell it out. Hugely talented,

I grabbed this as a read now when I first started using netgalley, but it was archived before I got a chance to read. I ended up finally listening to the audiobook and I enjoyed it. It was a little more of a drama than a thriller, but I liked that it was actually based on true events. The setting was very atmospheric and well done. This book does contain several content warnings that might make it not for everyone (listed below). I would likely recommend this.

Content warnings:
Child abuse, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Rape, Incest, Sexual assault

“Litani,” by Jess Lourney

I loved Bloodline. It was a thriller set in a small town. “Litani” was a small-town story set in the 1980s. It felt more like a dark, twisted coming-of-age story. Frankie moves in with her estranged mother after her father’s death. She finds herself in the middle of a dark, disturbing game. The book has a grim storyline that is based on a true story. I feel that should have been placed at the beginning of the book to prepare the reader.

Lourney focused on the characters and their relationships. Frankie, the main character, was exceptionally well fleshed out. Her relationship with her mother was genuinely heartbreaking. However, I felt her mother lacked depth. I had several questions about her mother’s behavior towards her daughter. I would have liked more background on her father

“Litani” has a dark plot seen through the eyes of a teenager. However, it seemed repetitive at times. The audiobook had me engaged and interested. It seemed repetitive at times. Did I like this as much as Bloodline? No, I did not. It is still an enjoyable story overall. I recommend reading the author’s note at the beginning of the book with caution because it gives away the story.

set in the early 1980s. this is essentially about child abuse. there is dark things afoot in the town of litani and for Frankie new to town after the death of her father, life is going to get a lot owrse.
On her very first day iFrankie gets beaten up by 3 younger girls and has her trainers stolen, and there are dark whispers about “the game”. The Game" that gets played in the woods and she has a feeling this is a not a game she wants to play at all
frankie already had her own problems, she thinks she is responsible for her fathers death and so she has a die hard need to protect people. She was a very easy to like character and I thought she was pretty authentic.
The kids of Litani are all scared to death and the more Frankie learns, the more disturbing it all becomes.
fantastic first read from this author and i will be seeking out more from them

I don’t think this story was for me. I’ve read about child abuse and sexual child abuse before, but this story just did not resonate with me. There were so many unpleasant things wrong with the story. Fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee lives with her father Paul in Pasadena and doesn’t really know her mother Linda who lives in Litani, MN. The one time she visits her mother at age seven they have two days of very awkward interactions which end up with Linda sending her home to her father. Other than two cards a year, she doesn’t see or hear from her mother for seven years. Right there I was screaming, “what!”

Her father is a sweet, quiet man who teaches botany and Frankie lives to please him. She is an introverted child and loves botany as well. When her father’s health begins to fail and she must help care for him it is quite a shock when he dies from heart failure when she is fourteen. She is sent to live with the mother she doesn’t know in Litany. When she arrives in Litany she has a terrible secret, she thinks she is responsible for her father’s death.

Upon her arrival, her mother, a prosecutor, is as cold as she remembers and immediately sends her off to play on a local playground. She gets into a fight with three younger girls from the trailer park, who steal her shoes and dare her to play “the game.” She quickly begins to understand that strange and unsavory things are going on in Litani and her mother keeps throwing her in the mix by making her interact with the local townspeople. With Linda, she has dinner with the mayor, and other top townspeople and even agrees to babysit. All the while, I’m thinking no, no, no don’t go near those people.

This story is about evil people, ordinary-looking people, in a small town spreading the most insidious evil imaginable over a long period of time with most victims keeping silent. Only a few speak up or act to stop the vicious evil.

I’m not sure where the disconnect was for me but I was not a fan. Somehow the characters just did not work for me. This book could have been so much better but fell flat in my opinion. However, this does not affect my decision to read other books by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion. I gave this book 2 ½ stars rounded down to 2 stars.

This is the third book I have read by Jess Lourey and am just obsessed with the way she writes thrillers: teenager POV, 70s/80s timeline, small town in Minnesota, and some seriously messed up shit. The writing is so atmospheric; you feel like you are in the story, right along with the main character. This one features 25 year old Frankie who is sent to live with her estranged county prosecutor mother after her beloved father dies. The town where her mother lives is where both her parents grew up and is creepy as hell. The children are rough and tumble and all the adults are sketchy. The children invite her to play “The Game,” but what is it and why does her mother warn her to stay out of the woods? I wish I had read this sooner!

I had a tough time getting through this one and was relieved when it was finished; disappointing, especially since I'd previously read Unspeakable Things by the author and enjoyed it much more; this story just pulled on and I never felt emotional.

I absolutely loved this book! It was my first Jess Lourey book and I can’t wait to read more from her! Frankie the main character was wise beyond her years. I feel like I got sucked into Litani’s town history. It was really intriguing. Also the end of the book, to me, had a heart warming effect. Would definitely recommend this one!

I put off reading this book for the longest time but what a mistake because I really ENJOYED reading this book! Jess Lourey is FABULOUS with Litani just as she was with Bloodline!
The plot was tense and had such a menacing atmosphere associated with it. I'm so bloody glad there were no graphic scenes of abuse because that'd be such a shame. Despite the absence of unecesarry 'violence' the theme feels like a threat looming at all times. And I love tgat feeling its what keeps me going. Jess masterfully created such amazing characters that were so very compelling. And don't forget the quirky touch of those pictures. Yes this book has pictures and I quite enjoyed them all. This book was very different from the usual thrillers but still so fricking good. I highly recommend this book and works of this author. This book is everything I look for in a suspense/thriller and then some!

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and Jess Lourey for the arc!

Ooooh, I'm so bummed. I was hoping to feel the satanic panic in this read. I thought it would feel the confusion, the fear and outrage. Instead, it was an interesting tale about a young girl, her guilt over losing her dad and the confusion of an absentee mother.

Oh sure, there was a lot of weird stuff going on in the town, but I just didn't feel it. The first fight scene was interesting but still, she spent so much of her time confused so I did too. I wish I'd liked it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I enjoyed the last Jess Lourey book I read, so I was really excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint. This booked gripped my attention right from the first chapter and was such a fun thriller. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

I've never read any of Jess Lourey's work until this book, and I have to admit that Lourey has a new fan. The details felt so intricately wound that I had no issue imagining the story as it unfolded. There are very few books nowadays that make it hard to put down, but this one easily made me lose track of time trying to get to the end.

Overall, Litani wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it DID keep me on my toes trying to read as quickly as possible to soak up each detail.

Now that I’ve written my review, I feel my rating of 2/5 was too harsh, so I’m upping it to 3.

It’s the summer of ’84. Frankie Jubilee’s Botanist father Paul is her whole world and her best friend, and she shares his love of all things plant and flowers. When he dies unexpectedly, the teenager is forced to move to small town Litani, MN, to live with a mother (Linda) she barely knows, and hasn’t seen in seven years. Her first day there, Frankie gets into a physical altercation with three girls from the local trailer park, who talk of ‘a game’ and dare her to play. Litani is a dying town, scarred and haunted by past satanic rituals taking place in the eerie abandoned old Brewery, and a 1970’s child abuse ring, and there are rumours that history is repeating itself. Frankie’s afraid, and with her mother working long hours as a county prosecutor, she has no one to turn to for both help and answers. And Frankie is also hiding something big – she killed her beloved father!

First, the good stuff. The layout of Litani was intricately detailed – I could definitely picture everything in my head. Any scenes where Frankie was babysitting were creepy with subtle foreshadowing, and the 1960’s tragedy, and how it connected to the present plot was well done. Compliments to Jess Lourey for making me feel as if I was right back in 1984 alongside Frankie. ‘The Book’ containing ‘Choose Your Own Plant Personalities’ sketched by Frankie which were a replica of the paperback covers of the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books was very cool. And, I was thrilled to find that the author was/is also a fan of V The Original Series and The Final Battle, and Marc Singer.

But, unfortunately the plot was kind of all over the place. In a nutshell, it was slow and predictable. I feel Frankie was the wrong choice for narrator as she was too far removed from the events, so everyone she encountered had that whole vague, speaking in riddles thing going on, a pet peeve of mine, especially when it goes on too long as it did here. Things quickly became boring and slow, and also it was abundantly obvious who the bad people were, eliminating any element of surprise. And why did Frankie’s mother fail to warn her fourteen-year-old daughter of the dark underbelly that existed in Litani, and both allowed and facilitated her to roam around town at all hours of the day and night, even though it’s clear from mother and daughter’s first scene that Linda was fully aware of the seriousness of the situation? Furthermore, there was a major plot hole that I really needed an answer to. I’ve re-read the relevant sections but I’m not satisfied. Finally, Frankie’s newfound friendships and her blind loyalty toward those who were practically strangers went from zero to hero in a heartbeat. The scenes and dialogue between her and another teenage character were particularly cringe-worthy.

For those concerned about the graphic content, you’ll be relieved to hear that the level of detail was minimal, since Frankie was on the outside looking in, and that this read more like YA than anything. Frankie also finds a cute stray kitten, and let me also reassure you – no harm comes to the cat.

This was Jess Lourey’s second book focusing on child sexual abuse and I think it was one too many. Unspeakable Things was as shocking as it was emotional, and Litani felt like both a repeat of that book, as well as an inferior version.

However, even though I wasn’t a fan of Litani, Jess Lourey’s writes well, and because I don’t usually have an issues with her dialogue, I will continue to read her books, as with the right material I reckon it’s only a matter of time before she blows me away again like she did with Unspeakable Things.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Jess Lourey for the e-ARC.

P.S: I read the ‘corrected proof’, but I would hope the author’s note was placed at the end of the book, rather than the beginning, in the published version, as it gave too much away.

I love any book that is set in the 1980's. So this book grabbed me straight away. It does contain a very touchy subject and it is written with sensitivity.

It’s a good thriller: fast-paced with great ‘80s small town atmosphere, well drawn out characters and decent prose.
If you like the eighties small town setting and exciting thrillers, I highly recommend checking it out.

3 stars....

Dark and drama filled. I liked this one a little more than Bloodline.

Thank you to the publisher & netgalley!

Secrets in small towns run deep. And Litani is worse that most! I sped through this one as I couldn't wait to figure out what was happening and why. It was dark and disturbing. Definitely will have triggers for those sensitive to child abuse.

I was very pleased to receive an early copy of this book, but was unable to fit on my TBR. My low rating is not a reflection of the work, but rather a nod to the fact that other books prioritized my time and bumped this one from my TBR list.

This was a dark, creepy, spooky story and was difficult to read in spots. However it is well written and you just have to know what is going to happen next.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.