Eva Pasco

5-Stars: Goodreads

July 8, 2026

Stayin’ Alive!

In author J.S. Frankel’s supernatural mystery, ‘Disco Infernal,’ it’s “Prayin’ Alive,” one of several parodied Seventies’ tunes he brings to the forefront at FIRE, the disco in the staged town of Dell’s Orchard.

Teen protagonists, John Winston and Andrea Kim, like so many others, are trapped in a town they can’t leave due to a preventive force field. Everyone relives the same programmed scenarios day in and day out.

Like John and Andrea, who strive to stay alive and get outta town, the reader is baffled as to what’s going on, why it’s happening, and who’s running the show.

Frankel is at the top of his game in this highly imaginative and well-written story. It’s campy, entertaining, eerily mysterious, and downright horrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Dell’s Orchard—at the expense of those who turned to dust.