New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd ( The Madman's Daughter) weaves a complex tale of dark magic and family secrets when a woman attempts to settle the estate of her father, an acclaimed horror novelist. Perfect fans of Lovecraft Country, Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, and The Babadook.
One step away from our world lies another: a land of violent fantasies, of sharp-toothed delights…
Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father’s remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not it. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning other works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in a house that her father warned her was haunted—clearly, just dementia whispering in his ear.
Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jumpstart her art career. However, everyone in the distant vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father’s obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three AM bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven’s bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, it’s clear she is about to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets—and completely rewrite everything she ever knew about herself.
What People Are Saying
“perfect for adults nostalgic for Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark."
―Library Journal
“In her adult debut, bestselling young adult author Shepherd has written an intensely spooky and scary tale about the power of stories and the art of creation. Highly recommended.”
―Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*
“Haunting and atmospheric, Megan Shepherd expertly blends horror and suspense in her captivating book-within-a-book adult debut. Beautifully written and steeped in Gothic lore, Malice House explores themes of family and legacy, magic and curses, and the mysterious power of stories.”
―Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls
“Turn on all the lights before you start Malice House, and plan to stay up late. Megan Shepherd's novel is a sophisticated, gothic tale that will keep readers turning the pages and guessing what's next until the very end.”
―Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds
“Utterly original and exquisitely terrifying, Malice House unfolds like a carefully crafted mystery. Every twist and reveal drew me deeper into its walls and the monsters within refused to let me go. Like a bone-chilling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children for grown-ups.”
―Elle Cosimano, USA Today bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
"Gripping, chilling, creepy, and enthralling, Megan Shepherd's new thriller Malice House channels Shirley Jackson, if Shirley Jackson knew how to make me check under the bed every night before going to sleep. Malice House is a must for readers who love gothic horror, creaking old houses, attics overflowing with dark secrets, or for anyone who has ever secretly suspected that there is an entire other universe hovering just out of reach."
―Katherine Howe, New York Times bestselling author of Conversion and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
"Each word of this novel felt like a blade down the spine, chilling and haunting and perfectly crafted. Megan Shepherd weaves a story like no one else, and Malice House is no exception."
―Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of A History of Wild Places
"Shepherd's deft adult debut is a propulsively charming nightmare, pooling like spilled ink across your imagination. Count me a happy resident of Malice House amidst all its monsters."
—Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Hide
"This book, like Malice House itself, contains many secrets, and you will read it voraciously to try to find and consume them all. May it compel you as swiftly as it compelled me."
—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers and the Star Wars: The Aftermath trilogy
In The News
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CrimeReads' "The Most Anticipated Crime Books of Fall 2022 And Beyond"