Gothic - Philip Fracassi

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For horror author Tyson Parks, the glory days grow farther and farther away each year. As he struggles to keep up with his publisher contracts and pen a novel that will bring him even remotely close to his past notoriety, Tyson finds he would give just about anything for a muse.

Then, on Tyson's 59th birthday, his long-time partner Sarah gifts him the desk. Forged with painstaking intentionality and superb craftsmanship, it's evident that this isn't just any writer's desk; it's a grand piece of history likely etched with its own mysterious stories, just waiting to be discovered.

Little does Tyson know, his new muse is harboring a darkness that will beckon him to the precipice--but of what? He shouldn't dare to find out.

"Gothic" is nothing short of a horror masterpiece. In 400 pages, Philip Fracassi weaves a harrowing story of a struggling writer who succumbs a darkness that becomes nearly indistinguishable from himself. With the same kind of visceral terror and unpretentious prose of Stephen King but still a voice uniquely his own, Fracassi marches this story forward with a pulse-pounding, dread-filled pace that kept me so engrossed I quite literally had to force myself to stop reading. 

I loved every page, even the ones that terrified me. "Gothic" (while certainly not for the faint of heart) is a refreshing homage to old-school horror but with an invigorated style that's bound to leave its mark.

Rating: 5 Stars
Publication Details: Out 2/3/2023, Cemetery Dance Publications

*Huge thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing my review copy!*

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