



The Book of Accidents
A Novel
-
-
4.0 • 305 Ratings
-
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • “The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns—I haven’t felt all this so intensely since The Shining.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Tragedies of the past threaten to destroy a family’s present in this terrifying novel. The Graves—Nate, Maddie, and their son, Oliver—leave the bustle of Philadelphia for the rural Pennsylvania town where Maddie and Nathan spent their not-so-happy childhoods in hopes of giving the troubled Ollie a fresh start. But it’s not just Nate’s childhood home that feels haunted by his traumatic past: there’s something weird about the entire town. Best-selling author Chuck Wendig pulls no punches in this gruesome and atmospheric tale. His characters’ individual traumas make them relatable and sympathetic, and their genuine love for one another makes the story even more nightmarish. After all of the nasty twists surprises, we slept with the lights on for days.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Philadelphia police officer Nate Graves, the protagonist of this creepy supernatural thriller from bestseller Wendig (Wanderers), initially rejects his much-hated, abusive father's dying wish that he buy his childhood house for $1 and then live there with his artist wife, Maddie, and their 15-year-old son, Oliver. The house in Upper Bucks County, Pa., holds horrible memories for Nate, but Oliver, an empath who feels others' pain and fear, insists he needs a fresh start after being humiliated and bullied for his special ability. A vengeful ghost who may be Nate's late father stalks the house, and nearby is the park that a serial killer used as a dumping ground before he vanished just as he was being executed. A boy's penchant for black magic, a haunted train tunnel, and sculptures that come to life add to the eerie atmosphere. Wendig is strongest when concentrating on the Graveses' unshakable love for each other, but the complex plot frequently devolves into confusion and repetitive scenes. Horror fans will best appreciate this one.
Customer Reviews
A must read
Wow. Simply wow…
Literally the best book I’ve read since Stephen’s Gunslinger
What a delicious, devious, sadistic, hilarious, tense, horrifying, amazing read! Couldn’t get enough I read this book in a week only reading at nights. Thank you Wendig you are a phenomenal author and have the same talent that seems as though you pull your stories from other dimensions and worlds, like King. Keep it up I personally can’t get enough!
Phenomenal!!!
I can’t begin to say enough great things about this book! Nothing is what it seems. But the author manages to make everything fall into place. Superb character development. Incredibly original story. I will definitely be reading this one again! Don’t hesitate and get this book. It’s 100% worth it!