From the Publisher
A Mask of Flies blows through the intersection at Horror Street and Crime Avenue and doesn’t let off the accelerator as it takes you on a white-knuckled ride to places you do not expect.”
—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Black River Orchard
“Cinematic, gruesome, hyper-violent, and fun as hell, A Mask of Flies fits perfectly in that nexus between propulsive crime fiction and scream-your-head-off horror. I loved every page of it.”
—Keith Rosson, author of Fever House
“Lyons wows in this atmospheric horror novel. Evocative prose enhances a riveting noir plot populated by expertly shaded characters. Add in some Lovecraftian overtones, and this proves an addictive thrill ride.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“A gory crime novel smashed up against a harrowing tale of cosmic horror—but beneath the thrilling action scenes, grisly violence, and unimaginable terrors, readers will find a beating heart full of love, ready to hope even in a seemingly hopeless world. Matthew Lyons is the real deal.”
—Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters
“A Mask of Flies is a riveting story of shocking violence and the terrible mysteries that families leave behind like scars in your skin. It’s desperation, loneliness, and the knock on the door by things that are better off dead.”
—Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author
“A wild, heartrending ride.”
—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse
“A delicious mix of crime and horror. Somehow beneath the blood, the nastiness, and the deep, uncanny terror of this novel, Lyons has spun a story of friendship, love, and kindness that will touch your racing heart.”
—Wendy N. Wagner, author of The Deer Kings
“A spiraling nightmare of criminals, cops, cabins, cults...and the terrors hiding just beyond the spotlight of memory.”
—Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings
“Matthew Lyons’ bare knuckle prose is brutal enough to split skin, split lips, split the reader’s soul straight down the middle. A Mask of Flies pulls no punches and finds a particular poetry in its bloodshed that resonates long after you’ve been knocked out.”
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters
“A Mask of Flies has all the propulsive momentum of a crime thriller, with the vast, unknowable dread of cosmic horror waiting just below the surface. Terrifying, romantic, and above all, Matthew Lyons’s best book yet.”
—Lindsay King-Miller, author of The Z Word
“This visceral novel is filled with shoot-outs, body horror, and cults, and yet, ultimately it is a story defined by love and acceptance.”
—Library Journal
“[A] ruthless display of skill, carving a raw and screaming path down into the abyss. It’s like Lovecraft and Laird Barron by way of Tarantino and Cormac McCarthy.”
—Gemma Files, award-winning author of Experimental Film and In That Endlessness Our End
Library Journal
05/01/2024
In Lyons's (A Black and Endless Sky) latest, Anne is trying to make a clean getaway with a bag full of cash after her latest bank robbery goes awry. Escaping with only one of her accomplices and the cop she has taken hostage, Anne heads to an isolated cabin in the eerie San Luis Valley, CO, the last place she stayed with her mother, that fateful night when she was seven and something came out of the forest, chasing them to her mother's death. Anne, a sympathetic criminal with a sad history, is just trying to survive, but there are forces hungry to find her, those who need her to do their bidding, assisted by an unstoppable creature, grotesquely crawling with flies and mimicking those closest to her. This visceral novel is filled with shoot-outs, body horror, and cults, and yet, ultimately it is a story defined by love and acceptance. VERDICT Epic in scope and deeply steeped in its place, Lyons's crime caper/horror hybrid will appeal to fans of titles like This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer, The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias, and The Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie.—Becky Spratford
