What Kind of Mother: A Novel
A New York Times Book Review Best Horror of 2023 selection.

Packed with profoundly unsettling scenes that’ll slither under your skin and stay there long after you turn the last page.—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.  

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman's reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

The paperback edition includes a sneak peek from Clay McLeod Chapman’s next horror novel, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes.
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What Kind of Mother: A Novel
A New York Times Book Review Best Horror of 2023 selection.

Packed with profoundly unsettling scenes that’ll slither under your skin and stay there long after you turn the last page.—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.  

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman's reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

The paperback edition includes a sneak peek from Clay McLeod Chapman’s next horror novel, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes.
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What Kind of Mother: A Novel

What Kind of Mother: A Novel

by Clay Chapman
What Kind of Mother: A Novel

What Kind of Mother: A Novel

by Clay Chapman

Paperback

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Clay Chapman’s books have a way of making you hold your breath. Grief and loss are common themes in fiction, but put in the hands of Chapman and the world goes even more out of balance — exactly what you want in a horror novel.

A New York Times Book Review Best Horror of 2023 selection.

Packed with profoundly unsettling scenes that’ll slither under your skin and stay there long after you turn the last page.—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.  

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman's reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

The paperback edition includes a sneak peek from Clay McLeod Chapman’s next horror novel, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781683694335
Publisher: Quirk Publishing
Publication date: 06/04/2024
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 245,058
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

About The Author
Clay McLeod Chapman writes novels, comic books, and children's books, as well as for film and TV. He is the author of the horror novels The Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane, and Ghost Eaters. He also co-wrote Quiet Part Loud, a horror podcast produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw for Spotify. Visit him at claymcleodchapman.com.

Read an Excerpt

ONE

Give me your hand.
     Such a simple invitation. I’ve asked it many times of many people over the last year. Folks tend to forget how intimate the act is, how vulnerable you become when you surrender your palm to another. Especially to someone like me. The tender flesh of your wrist, the meat of your palm, the peninsulas of your fingers. Their secrets hidden from you but exposed to me.
     I’ll guide you there, but first you need to . . .
   Give me your hand.

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