Call Off the Dark

"Call Off the Dark is my favorite kind of thriller: so moving about true love and the aftermath of loss, and at the same time, twisty, confounding and impossible to put down."
--Clare Leslie Hall, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Broken Country

A haunting, atmospheric debut thriller with a love story at its heart, following a feisty young woman caught between her husband and a mysterious stranger who disturbs their off-grid life in rural Washington--currently in development as a television series with Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions!

Helen and Tyler were soulmates, a couple with a storybook beginning and an enduring bond, until Tyler's sudden murder shattered her world. Numb with grief and desperate for escape, Helen impulsively marries Wade--a near stranger--and goes off-grid with him to a farmhouse in rural Washington.

Trading her polished Seattle existence for a tradwife life of canning vegetables and sewing during the day, she battles insomnia, PTSD, and haunting memories of Tyler at night...until Wade's brother Isaac shows up. The problem: Isaac died years ago in a farm accident, and Wade insists they're now in danger.

Helen isn't sure what to believe. Is Isaac back from the dead? Is Wade manipulating her? Or is Helen's mind unraveling? As her suspicions close in from every side, Helen must navigate a maze of secrets, grief, and uncertainty--where trusting the wrong person could be fatal.

A stunningly original debut, Call Off the Dark blends a spine-tingling thriller, an immersive psychological drama, and a heart-piercing love story that reminds us of the magic in human connection and that our truest partners in life can keep us tethered to the world, even from the grave.

Hallie Shepherd is a screenwriter, actor, and producer. She is a Pacific Northwest native who now lives in LA with her filmmaker husband. This is her debut novel.