In 1980s Cold Harbor, the recluse in the decaying mansion above town has finally come down to meet her neighbors. Ellery Adams's horror novel follows the few people who can tell something is wrong.

Readical Key Points

• A horror novel set in a small 1980s town, mixing myth and folklore with family drama
• Reviewed in Booklist and Publishers Weekly; Booklist notes it is Adams's first venture into horror
• Content note: includes violence and human sacrifice
• Hardcover, 352 pages, Hanover Square Press (2026)

Mrs. Smith dazzles the town with her beauty, and her long life depends on a price paid in human lives. Natalie Scott, a homemaker on a tight household budget who is trying to land her first home sale as an agent, sees her mostly as an obstacle. Jill, Natalie's daughter, who is twelve, and Una, the family's Icelandic housekeeper, sense something older at work and go looking for answers in library books.

The story moves among several households, following Natalie, her two closest friends, Jill and Una as fear and resentment spread through the neighborhood. It suits horror readers who like social observation with their scares, and mystery readers following Adams into a new genre. The creature on the hill is not the only danger in Cold Harbor. It is simply the one that admits what it wants.

About the Author

Ellery Adams is a USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling author who has written dozens of mystery novels.

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