A widower battles grief, rage, and the mysterious evil inhabiting his home smart speaker, in this mesmerizing horror thriller
Gus Moreno's stories have appeared in Aurealis, PseudoPod, Bluestem Magazine, and the anthology Burnt Tongues. He lives in the suburbs with his wife and dogs, but never think for one second that he's not from Chicago.
**Named a Best Book of 2021 by the New York Public Library and
NPR** A Most Anticipated Book of Fall at Buzzfeed, Gizmodo,
Tor.com, This is Horror, and CrimeReads
"A surreal excursion into heartache and horror narrated by a man
undone by grief . . . Along with allusions to Rod Serling and The
Exorcist, there are shades of H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, zombie
literature and, at least once, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .
. . You don't want to read this book right before bed."
--Sarah Lyall, The New York Times Book Review
"This Thing Between Us is more than a horror novel about loss and
grief. This is a political book about culture, migration, and
identity . . . It's a fresh take on the genre that celebrates and
pays tribute to its elements, from the gore to the cerebral stuff .
. . While the scary parts are fun to read, the emotional grittiness
of this novel is what makes a lasting impact . . . A superb debut.
"
--Gabino Iglesias, NPR "Disquieting . . . [The] level of emotional
complexity, raw and candid in its evocation, that ensures This
Thing Between Us is not beholden to any trope or cliché . . . This
Thing Between Us did remind me of The Only Good Indians. Both books
take a similar visceral and passionate approach to race and
identity while also being truly heart-stopping pieces of fiction.
And akin to Jones, Moreno's novel is genuinely terrifying . . . A
magnificent debut."
--Ian Mond, Locus "Fascinating, bizarre, and incredibly creative,
Gus Moreno's debut is as hard to pin down as that voice in the
[smart] speaker, but far more rewarding."
--Molly Odintz, CrimeReads "This intense cosmic horror with a touch
of Mexican American folklore is incredibly creepy and moving."
--Margaret Kingsbury, BuzzFeed "[This Thing Between Us is]
unsettling, poignant and like the best ghost stories, I found
myself telling the bare bones of the story to friends and family,
just to see the reaction. It begins in Pilsen, which is exactly
right--gentrification is inherently a ghost story, a tale of
disrupted lives and new families moving into the homes of people
passed over . . . Moreno's playbook is old and knowing: Our
uncertainty about technology can hold very serious heartbreak about
what's lost."
--Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune "Mordant, moving, and
creepy."
--Jeff VanderMeer, on Twitter "A genuinely creepy supernatural
horror novel, a book that made the hairs on the back of my neck
stand up and prompted me to turn on the nightlight at bedtime . . .
The story is hard-driving and terrifying and well-wrought. It's not
just a promising start to a long career -- it's a fantastic novel
in its own right."
--Cory Doctorow, Medium "Gus Moreno's strange and beguiling debut
novel This Thing Between Us was such an experience . . . it will
not surprise me at all if it morphs into a sleeper cult hit . . .
This Thing Between Us [is] a bold and highly original horror novel
built around the power of grief, guilt, isolation, loneliness and
the entities which might feed on those feelings. When you get to
the end you may well ask yourself "what the f**k did I just read?"
and then backtrack over the previous pages for missed clues you may
or may not find . . . Startling and unforgettable."
--Tony Jones, Ginger Nuts of Horror "Gus Moreno's This Thing
Between Us is as original as it is affecting. It is a meditation on
grief and on what it means to belong, and there were scenes that
left me genuinely creeped out, unsettled, and shaken. An
existentially frightening book. Count me as a fan."
--Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Survivor Song
"The worst kind of grief, technology that activates all your
paranoia, and a line between madness and sanity that's so blurry as
to not even matter . . . Hold on, this isn't a ride, it's a slide,
and it doesn't care whether you're ready or not."
--Stephen Graham Jones, bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
"Moreno writes about feelings and experiences for which words can
never be big enough. And he does it, not only with skill and grace,
but with a grasp of genre capable of igniting a page-turning frenzy
in the reader . . . Tasteful nods to other classics in the genre
abound . . . This Thing Between Us does what only the best horror
can -- gives the reader reason to hold onto their humanity."
--Jesse Davis, Memphis Flyer "A horror tale of hair-raising hairpin
curves! You won't be able to guess where Gus Moreno's cool, weird
journey is taking you. Funny, scary, and utterly
heartbreaking."
--Andy Davidson, author of The Boatman's Daughter "Bone-chilling .
. . Moreno makes clever use of structure to maximize dread, opening
with Vera's funeral and then doubling back, while references to
famous horror novels and films trick readers into thinking they're
following a familiar path before the tragic plot veers wildly
off-map. Harrowing existential horror that lingers like a
nightmare."
--Kirkus, starred review "[This Thing Between Us is] as emotionally
taxing as it is terrifying--a novel of domestic conflict and
suspense as well as horror."
--Carole V. Bell, BookPage "A gorgeously gory journey through
madness and grief that I found impossible to put down. Moreno's
manipulation of reality is mesmerizing, twisting the protagonist
and the reader up in a nightmare of modern day horrors and
long-told stories of the boogeyman. It's been a long time since
I've felt so engrossed and terrified. Drawing the curtains closed
won't help, Thiago's demons are already in your brain!"
--Rachel Eve Moulton, author of Tinfoil Butterfly "In graceful
prose peppered with terrifyingly vivid descriptions, Moreno gives a
nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey to explore the perils of technology
while probing the all-too-human complexities of grief. The
devastating result marks Moreno as a horror writer to watch."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review "A frightening story of grief
and evil . . . The anger and grief Thiago is trying to deal with
absolutely leap off the page as Moreno tugs on the reader's heart
over and over again."
--Marla Warren, The Nerd Daily "An original new voice in cosmic
horror . . . Readers will eagerly follow Thiago and the
increasingly weird twists and turns that escalate from unsettlingly
haunting to uncomfortably creepy, and ultimately arrive at
mind-altering terror . . . Much like the very best of
twenty-first-century cosmic horror such as The Fisherman by John
Langan or The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher."
--Becky Spratford, Booklist "This Thing Between Us brings the very
real horrors of living in the world into blazing contact with a
supernatural strangeness that refuses to be subsumed into any
pattern we can categorize, dissect, and exorcize. In Gus Moreno's
strong, original first novel, reality floats over a void, always
threatening to seep out and engulf us."
--Brian Evenson, author of Song for the Unraveling of the World
"Dazzling . . . From its first, startling line, the narrative wraps
the reader in graceful prose that refuses to let go until the
striking end. Moreno has written a fine, fine book, one I am glad
to recommend."
--John Langan, author of Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies
"Powerful . . . creepy and engaging, this work will make an
impactful addition to horror sections."
--Library Journal "Get ready to throw your electronic virtual
assistant out the window! Gus Moreno's creepy, atmospheric, darkly
funny novel will have you side-eyeing your Alexa, thanks to a
tech-tinged story about grief, the afterlife, and demonic
disturbances. This Thing Between Us is terrifying and
unputdownable, with a likable, grounded narrator who pulls back the
curtain on the other side, only to reveal something truly
unnerving. An unforgettable debut."
--Jamey Bradbury, author of The Wild Inside
"Ah, horror thrillers! We. love. them. Gus Moreno really did a
great job giving us the best seat on this ride."
--Nazlican Ay, The Honey Pop "This Thing Between Us is an
unsettling, visceral, harrowing descent into loss, madness, and
suffering. While there are moments of peace, humor, and reflection
scattered throughout this dark journey, Gus Moreno has cast a spell
that I'm still trying to shake off. It's Come Closer meets Angel
Heart with a dash of Dante's Inferno."
--Richard Thomas, author of Disintegration and Breaker
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