Until the Last Light Goes Out

Some places hold memories. Others refuse to let the past stay buried. In Until the Last Light Goes Out, Courtney Gould takes readers to Kaleidoscope Key, a once-luxurious resort in the Florida Keys that became the scene of a devastating high-school massacre. Twenty-five years earlier, 183 students died under mysterious circumstances. Only five people survived, and none has ever explained what happened inside the resort that night. Paige Keller has spent much of her life trying to distance herself from the tragedy. Her mother was one of the survivors, and Paige would rather build a future away from the questions and painful history surrounding Kaleidoscope Key. But when she returns home on the massacre's anniversary, she discovers that her former best friend, KJ, has disappeared. Paige believes KJ has gone to the abandoned resort—the place that has always fascinated her. Determined to find her, Paige joins the children of the other survivors and ventures into the property. What begins as a search for a missing friend becomes a terrifying confrontation with the past. The resort holds secrets that affect not only the original survivors but also the next generation. Blending gothic atmosphere, supernatural horror, mystery, and romance, the novel explores grief, inherited trauma, silence, friendship, identity, and the emotional consequences of secrets passed between generations. Readers can expect an unsettling setting, shifting perspectives across time, and a story in which personal relationships matter as much as the mystery. This book is suited to young adult and crossover readers who enjoy atmospheric horror, haunted locations, queer-inclusive fiction, supernatural suspense, and emotionally layered stories about friendship and family history.