Hold the Dark

July 7, 2014
Giraldi makes a dark departure from his rollicking debut, Busy Monsters, with this tale of vengeance, which tracks an aggrieved man through the back country of Alaska. The novel starts out slow—and strange. Children are disappearing from the village of Keelut; locals think wolves are to blame. But when wolf expert Russell Core shows up to investigate, he makes a discovery: the body of the latest victim, Bailey Slone, strangled, and the boy’s mother, Medora, missing from the scene. Vernon, Bailey’s father, returns to town from military service overseas and goes on a maniacal rampage, brutally stabbing or shooting every cop and townsperson he encounters during his search for Medora. His boyhood friend Cheeon, a grizzled hunter even more dangerous than Vernon, joins him for part of the spree. Unfortunately, when the reason for Bailey’s murder is finally disclosed, the big reveal feels more like a delayed gimmick than a genuine surprise. Still, if Giraldi set out to write an eerie portrait of depraved behavior set in the boonies, he certainly hit his target. Agent: David Patterson, Foundry Media.

September 1, 2014

Giraldi's follow-up to Busy Monsters is set in a small Alaskan village at the winter solstice, and the harsh Arctic landscape serves as both physical and psychological backdrop for an unnerving tale that explores where and how human nature gives way to its opposite. After receiving a letter from Medora Slone, a young mother whose son has been recently taken by wolves, wolf expert Russell Core travels to the remote Alaskan village of Keelhut for reasons he doesn't fully understand. Arriving at the darkest time of the year, Core gradually comes to learn that the truth of the situation is far different--and far more sinister--than he could ever have imagined. And it will grow even darker after Vernon Slone returns from the Iraq War to find his son dead and his wife missing. VERDICT Giraldi's back-country Alaska is a savagely amoral place where the constant struggle for survival brings out the most elemental aspects of humanity. This work travels deep into the most ancient and primitive realms of being, offering an unflinching--and more than a little frightening--exploration of the domains of the unconscious that are more commonly the province of myth and fairy tale.--Lawrence Rungren, Andover, MA

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