Selected by Library Journal as one of the best horror books of 2019
"The sheer, skin-crawling fright is masterful. Thomas has crafted an indelible story...all wrapped in a supernatural shroud that unfurls from the heart of America. Whether or not thoughts can breathe, books certainly can, and Violet does exactly that." -Jason Heller, National Public Radio
"Don''t let anybody tell you this book is a slow burn-Violet travels at the speed of horror." -Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother.
Three decades later, loss returns-her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain-to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It's there that Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief.
But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown-and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.
Industry Reviews
"The sense of dread builds slowly in this atmospheric, character-driven tale." -Library Journal, selected as a Best Horror Book of 2019
"Thomas is a horror novelist who will be camping out on your shelves for years to come." -Booklist (starred review)
"Thomas conjures the power of grief with dreadful clarity, rendering the entity's vengeance as inevitable as it is chilling. It's a gruesome, ghostly, yet moving tale of love, loss, and the endless power of memory." -Publishers Weekly
"The sheer, skin-crawling fright is masterful. Thomas has crafted an indelible story...all wrapped in a supernatural shroud that unfurls from the heart of America. Whether or not thoughts can breathe, books certainly can, and Violet does exactly that." -Jason Heller, National Public Radio
"A master class in immersion. Don't let anybody tell you this book is a slow burn-Violet travels at the speed of horror." -Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and A House at the Bottom of a Lake
"Unputdownable nightmare fuel. Some of the most compelling storytelling I've read in a long time." -Sadie Hartmann, Cemetery Dance
"Not since Peter Straub's Ghost Story has a book so fully mesmerized and terrified me." -Shane D. Keene, Horror DNA
"Thomas cuts even deeper and darker. If you weren't already a fan, this should be the book to do it." -Sam Reader, Barnes & Noble