Reviews
An unforgettable tale of familial betrayal and the dark side of the entertainment industry ... a survivor’s story told through the lens of contemporary horror cinema — as unsettling as it is authentic. May’s voice is a force to be reckoned with
Allyson Shaw, author of Ashes & Stones
Blending horror, humour and intrigue ... unpicks the trauma of a Hollywood childhood and the lingering malignant forces that plague a life chasing fame. It’s twisty, gossipy and compulsively readable, but held together by sinews of righteous rage. I ate it up (and the Fifer in me loved that Lynsey May brought Hollywood to Burntisland)
Lucy Ribchester, Murder Ballad
Brutal and brilliant ... a piercing portrait of fame, forgone potential and merciless paranoia
Heather Palmer, Deathbound and Bloodbound
About the Book
Meridith Baxter is a former child star on the brink of obscurity. Famous for being the unacknowledged love child of Hollywood heartthrob Richard Thorne as well as her roles in classic sitcoms, Meri’s career ended abruptly after her performance as a teenage scream queen in cult horror movie, Kin.
When old clips of Kin go viral, ambitious director-duo Calum and Kiran seize the moment. They’re filming a low-budget indie horror, Prodigy, set in Scotland – and they want her. Meri jumps at the chance, and why wouldn’t she? Her toxic mom Cici’s megachurch is trying to recruit her, the bills for her beloved New York apartment are suffocating, and no one’s stopping her on the street any more. Meanwhile, her childhood frenemy Savannah is the hottest pop star on the planet.
But when filming starts, online rumours swirl about a certain producer who gave Meri and Savannah their big breaks. And as Cici sharpens her claws in the heat of LA, Meri begins to unravel on set in the dark woods of Burntisland.
Will resurrecting her career unearth secrets from the past Meri would rather keep buried?
The Author
Lynsey May
Lynsey May lives, loves and writes in Edinburgh. She won first place in the Fresh Ink novel contest in 2020, a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2013, a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2015 and a spot as Cove Park’s Emerging Scottish Writer in 2016. Her short fiction has been published in various journals and anthologies, including The Stinging Fly, Gutter, New Writing Scotland and Banshee. Weak Teeth is her first novel.
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