By Clara Martin. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 16)

“And, soft as a moth wing, out slipped a torn scrap of paper that fluttered to the floor.
I picked it up. Scribbled in Her handwriting, all bubbly and little-girly, the way She made my hand move whenever She wanted to write something:

Be nice to him

June 20

Remember the stories.”

This is the first clue left behind by Clare’s demon in The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas (Amulet Books). In an unnamed Southern town, Clare has been delivered from her demon by a preacher and his son. One month later, she finds messages hidden in old books she doesn’t remember taking to Uncle Mike’s Used and Collectible, the thrift shop in her town. Clare’s demon was her friend, and she’s doing anything she can to get Her back, even if it means befriending Roy, the boy who separated Clare from her demon in the first place. Their friendship will lead them to uncover other mysteries in their town, specifically regarding Uncle Mike’s missing daughter, Clea, and a wooden box filled with secrets worth $1000.

A spooky psychological thriller and mystery, Jimmy Cajoleas’ young adult novel debut will have readers on the edge of their seat. In The Good Demon, there is no doubt that Cajoleas is a powerhouse of a writer in this atmospheric novel with an undercurrent of fear and faith. Featuring three-dimensional characters who keep generations of secrets from each other, the reader isn’t quite sure who to trust. If you like to be scared in broad daylight, if you want original writing and the kind of quirky and complex characters who occupy the nooks and crannies of the South, then The Good Demon is for you.

Jimmy Cajoleas is originally from Jackson, Mississippi and graduated with an MFA from the University of Mississippi and now lives in New York. He will signing and reading The Good Demon at Lemuria on Wednesday, September 19 at 5 p.m.

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