The Monster Variations by Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus captures the essence of summer with this cross promotion video to help sell his first book. The filmmaker turned author uses all the tools at his disposal to create a top notch video that entices you to read more about his new book. The Monster Variations seems like a sleeper surprise for this summer.

This fast-paced read will keep readers on the edge of their seats!

Someone is killing boys in a small town. The murder weapon is a truck, and the only protection is a curfew enacted to keep kids off the streets. But it’s summer—and that alone is worth the risk of staying out late for James, Willie, and Reggie.

Willie, who lost his arm in the first hit-and-run attack, finds it hard to keep up with his two best friends as they leave childhood behind. All of them are changing, hounded by their parents, hunted by the killer, and haunted by the “monster,” a dead thing that guards the dangerous gateway between youth and manhood. But that’s not all: shadowing the boys everywhere is Mel Herman, the mysterious and brilliant bully whose dark secrets may hold the key to their survival. As the summer burns away, these forces collide, and it will take compassion, brains, and guts for the boys to overcome their demons—and not become monsters themselves.

In this chilling and poignant debut novel, Daniel Kraus deftly explores the choices boys grapple with and the revelations that occur as they become men.

See also:

The Monster Variations, The Daniel Kraus site

A new novel finds the horror in coming-of-age

Work – A Documentary Movie Series by Chicago Filmmaker Daniel Kraus