A new psychological thriller with links to his acclaimed bestsellers KOKO and THE THROAT -- from the co-author of the massive international No 1 bestseller BLACK HOUSE. From the prolific and ferocious imagination of Peter Straub, the acclaimed master of literary horror, springs a groundbreaking story of the persistence of evil told with tantalizing ambiguity and formal audacity. A woman kills herself for no apparent reason. A week later, her teenage son disappears. The vanished boy's uncle, Timothy Underhill -- familiar to Straub's readers from Koko and The Throat -- is compelled to return to his hometown of Millhaven to discover what he can. A madman known as the Sherman Park Killer has been haunting the neighbourhood, but Underhill believes that Mark's obsession with a local abandoned house is at the root of his disappearance. He fears that in peeling back the house's hideous secrets, Mark came across its last and greatest secret -- a lost girl, one who has coaxed Mark deeper and deeper into her mysterious domain where he must encounter a fearsome adversary.

From the reviews of Black House: 'One of the most brilliant and chilling thrillers of modern times.' Daily Mail 'Fabulous. The ultimate in storytelling by two masters of the craft.' Independent on Sunday 'An intelligent, suspenseful page-turner ... It's a relief to find popular fiction that's as unpretentious yet rich in literary allusion and human detail as Black House.' Wall Street Journal Praise for Peter Straub: 'Straub is a master at creating fear out of everyday life.' Sunday Telegraph 'No one is better than Straub at having whole communities rocked by the forces of wickedness.' Observer

Born in Milwaukee, Peter Straub is the author of fifteen novels, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. He has won the British Fantasy Award, two Bram Stoker awards and two World Fantasy awards. His most recent publications are his acclaimed novel MR X, a collection of short stories, MAGIC TERROR, and BLACK HOUSE, the international bestselling novel that he co-wrote with Stephen King.