by Nat Cassidy
First published 2025
Jess scrapes by as an actress when she discovers a five year old boy crouched in the bushes near her building. The child has run away from home, but his father tracks him down. A brutal confrontation leaves blood spilled and forces Jess to flee with the boy. His father pursues them with growing desperation. During their escape, Jess learns something impossible about her young companion. His fears don't stay locked in his mind. They become real, taking physical form in the world around them. Every terror the boy feels manifests as genuine threat. The violence that dogs their steps grows worse as his panic increases. His father closes in while the boy's nightmares multiply around them. Jess must protect a child whose own mind creates the dangers they face. When their pursuer finally catches up, the boy's deepest fears will unleash something that spares no one.
Genres: suspense, horror, adult-fiction, thriller, psychological-thriller, dark-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, haunting, intense, suspenseful, visceral
Tropes: forced-proximity, found-family, protective-adult, reality-bending
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Paperback · Tor Nightfire
Content warnings: child-abuse, graphic-violence, violence