Paradise Lost - Hardcover

His voice was barely above a whisper as he lifted his face ever so slightly above the turned-up collar of his coat. "If it's true what they say . . . that revenge is a dish that is best served cold, then Jack Barrett's about to experience a serious and very permanent drop in body temperature."

When former wallflower Chase Maxfield returns to school in the fall as a hunky high schooler, he temporarily siphons attention away from golden boy Troy Barrett. Chase's too-good-to-be-true physical transformation oddly unsettles Troy's older brother, Jack, and as Chase enters the Barretts' inner circle, it becomes clear that there's more to his miraculous evolution than he's willing to tell.

Jack's uneasiness mounts as both family and friends report sightings of his father's dangerous alter ego. Then when his grandmother is mysteriously poisoned, his brother goes missing, and his girlfriend appears overly interested in a new guy at school, Jack's confidence is shaken to the core. And though a dead man can't live, Mr. Eden seems to be reaching from beyond the grave with a singular agenda-destroying Jack Barrett from the inside out.

Steven L. Layne continues the tradition of intrigue and suspense established in This Side of Paradise-which Kirkus calls "an entertaining, suspenseful thriller"-in this highly anticipated sequel.

Dr. Steven L. Layne is a full-time professor of literacy education at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, where he teaches courses in children's and adolescent literature and directs the university's Master of Education in Literacy program. A fifteen-year veteran of public education, Dr. Layne serves as an international literacy consultant, featured author, and keynote speaker at conferences, workshops, and schools throughout the world.

Layne is the author of the award-winning young adult novel This Side of Paradise as well as the teen thriller Mergers. His picture books published by Pelican include the International Reading Association/Children's Choices selections The Teachers' Night Before Christmas and My Brother Dan's Delicious as well as Love the Baby and Share with Brother. He is also the author of the best-selling professional book Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers. Layne lives with his family in St. Charles, Illinois.

"I saw him, Jack."
I nearly dropped the phone. The room was spinning. Why? Because my brother's voice was deadly scary and because without him saying another word, I knew exactly who he meant.
"Jack, are you there? Did you hear me? I said I saw him. He was watching Chase. I know it's not possible, but I know who I saw, and I'm right, Jack. I know I'm right."
My mouth was so dry I didn't think I could speak. My hoarse voice finally muttered a few words of explanation that I knew he wouldn't buy. "Troy . . . you've been in the sun all afternoon. The mind. You know, your mind can play . . . "
"Jack, would you get over here?" I'd only heard his voice sound this desperate once before. A year ago. I closed my eyes and leaned against a pillar for support. "I saw him, Jack. He was here. Today. For just a minute . . . and then he was gone. Jack, Mr. Eden's alive."

"Fans of Steven Layne will be quickly drawn into this fast-paced tale. The tense story-full of twists and surprises-is another engaging science fiction thriller."
-Sara Holbrook, author, I Never Said I Wasn't Difficult

Praise for This Side of Paradise

"Layne's tale is a heady mix of conspiracies, alternate identities, and sinister underground laboratories with a creepy schizophrenic villain that readers will love to hate."
-VOYA