A Crooked Mark

Starred review from April 10, 2023
Kao deftly blends chilling, slow-burn psychological horror with supernatural elements and moving relationships in this intense debut. Seventeen-year-old Matt Watts works with his father as members of Second Sweep, a covert organization dedicated to identifying and executing people marked by Lucifer. The Marked, those who have escaped certain death, are considered very dangerous, especially because of their rapidly developing abilities that allow them to psychically manipulate their surroundings. Matt’s first solo mission is to befriend and, if necessary, execute 16-year-old Rae Winter, the sole survivor of a multi-fatality car accident. Matt inserts himself into Rae’s mundane life, moving to the charming suburb of Mills Creek and enrolling in school for the first time after being homeschooled by his father. But as the two teens grow closer, Matt struggles to reconcile kind and beautiful Rae with the treacherous Marked he’s been forced to annihilate and confront horrifying truths about his profession. Through Matt’s snarky first-person narration, Kao weaves a captivating tale laced with aptly fatalistic humor that closely examines the unraveling of one teen’s entire worldview and the overwhelming stress of living a double life. Matt is half Chinese, half white; Rae has light brown hair and hazel eyes. Ages 14–up.