Shiftling by Steven Savile

This is the story of four friends. The carnival is coming to town and they decide to do odd jobs around the village to raise money for tickets. All goes well until they get to 'Old Man Harrisons' house. Suddenly life will never be the same again. Secrets will be hidden and traumas laid bare. Many years later those secrets will be revealed and the truths may be more than anyone can handle.

This read as a rites of passage/coming of age book very much in the vein of IT or Stand by Me. I enjoyed those and I enjoyed this just as much. The twin storylines were a brilliant idea and the convergence at the end made everything make sense. The setting of 1985 was a good one for me as I was a teenager then so I could identify with much of the history of that time. I loved the choices of music at the carnival, some of my favourite bands were played! This is another 5 star release from DarkFuse, may they keep on coming!