“The Heart of a Child is a twisted tale of cults, secrets, and conspiracy. Ava is a compelling protagonist with grit and determination. Her love for her daughter, her concern for her mother, and her guilt over the death of her father combine to give her a swirling tangle of motivations. It would be easier for her to just step away from it all, run far away and close this chapter of her life, but doesn’t she owe it to herself, to her father, to the little girl she saw sacrificed all those years ago to scream the truth? Cosco masterfully weaves the past and present in the narrative, revealing the truth at the opportune moment. Ava’s journey shows what it truly costs to stand by the truth and what happens when those costs climb too high.
If you like tense stories about confronting the past and inescapable evils, check out The Heart of a Child.”
Eleven-year-old Ava O’Brien has always been quiet, observant, and just a little different. But when she tells her parents about a day at school that ended in horror, they’re left shaken and uncertain.
Ava’s story involves classmates blindfolded and led into a hidden basement, masked figures performing unthinkable rituals, and a darkness so suffocating that it still haunts her dreams. Her details are vivid, her fear palpable—too vivid to dismiss as fantasy.
Teddy and Barbara O’Brien want to believe it’s all in their daughter’s mind. But as cracks form in the facade of their small-town life, they realize Ava’s account may be more than a story. If she’s telling the truth, then evil is closer than they ever imagined.
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