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Crooked Lane Books
August 2025
On Sale: August 12, 2025
304 pages
ISBN: 8892423126
EAN: 9798892423120
Kindle: B0DMV2FT41
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Hardcover (August 2025)
Thriller Historical | Paranormal
The search for two missing children goes terribly wrong in this haunting and insidiously creepy ghost story debut by acclaimed showrunner Patrick Tarr.
With terror mounting in 1940 London, thousands of "Guest Children" were evacuated out of England to escape the bombings. Two of those children, Michael and Frances Hawksby, were never seen again.
Randall Sturgess wanted to do his part in the war—but stayed home instead to look after his troubled younger brother. Impoverished, shamed as a coward, and running out of work options as veterans come home, when he’s asked to investigate the disappearance of the Hawksby children, he agrees.
Reluctantly leaving his brother behind, Randall follows the children’s trail to a remote corner of northern Ontario, where he finds an isolated resort. There, he discovers the secretive couple who initially took in the young Hawksbys, along with their collection of strange, seemingly permanent guests. But there’s still no sign of the children.
Plagued by vivid nightmares and a persistent feeling that he’s being watched, Randall searches the imposing woods and lake for any trace of Michael and Frances. Randall's certain something terrible has happened to them, linked to a spectral presence he senses around the lodge and glimpses out of the corner of his eye. Appearing first in his dreams and then in waking life, strange visions call to Randall, even as his every instinct tells him to stay away–and he’s increasingly convinced that if he ever wants to find the children, he must succumb to the call.
Vividly atmospheric, layered, and twisty, The Guest Children is sure to appeal to fans of Shutter Island and The Others.
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