The Dead Room

In this atmospheric thriller from Catriona McPherson, a young widow seeking refuge from her grief wades into the mists at the far end of memory lane--where something even darker awaits.

Reeling from the death of her husband, thirty-something audiobook narrator Lindsay Hale retreats to her Scottish hometown and the comforts of old times. The bungalow where she grew up is just as she left it, next to the scrapyard her family still owns. But something is wrong...something beyond grief.

Something she can only glimpse from the corner of her eye.

Lindsay's brother and best friend are there to welcome her back. An elderly widow helps Lindsay make sense of her new normal, and a kind man hints at unexpected possibilities. But when her widow friend vanishes, only Lindsay seems to notice. And while she starts "recognizing" strangers, she begins forgetting familiar faces.

Every night, as Lindsay's dream house fills with nightmares, she wonders whether she's truly unraveling--or if something more sinister's at play. Buried secrets surface and reality bends, forcing Lindsay to face the terrifying truth that her new haven isn't so safe after all.

Born in Scotland, Catriona McPherson (she/her) studied at the University of Edinburgh, where she earned her PhD in linguistics. She worked briefly as an academic but has been a full-time fiction writer since 2005. Catriona has written all over the mystery genre--historicals, comedies, dark psychological thrillers--and her work has won Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity awards. Her novels have also been short-listed for Edgar and Mary Higgins Clark awards, as well as the UK Dagger. Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of the Sisters in Crime writing association.

In 2010, she immigrated to the US, settling in Northern California. There, she lives on twenty scruffy acres with her scientist husband and an elderly black cat. When not writing (or reading), Catriona likes to garden, cook, bake, ride her bike, do yoga, go open-water swimming, and visit the old country--especially in the summer, when California is just too hot.