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Secret Lives of the Dead

Author Tim Lebbon
Paperback
5-1/8"W x 8"H | 13 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Aug 26, 2025 | 336 Pages | 9781835413555

A dark folk horror tale of a deadly family curse, crime and murder that is sure to turn your blood cold, from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Netflix’s The Silence.

When Jodi, BB and Matt decide to burgle a derelict country home as a thrilling dare, they become embroiled in a twisted legacy of supernatural terror. There are rumours of a bizarre curse hanging over the hoard of antiques and jewellery within the house. And unbeknownst to the others, one member of the trio has darker motives for breaking into the property.

Lem is a brutal man obsessed with a gruesome family legend. He is determined to right the wrongs of the past and lift the curse placed on his bloodline. By completing the work of his father and bringing a bizarre selection of scattered relics back together, he hopes to be free of the malign influence that has hounded every generation of his family for two centuries.

Across a single day a deadly pursuit will culminate on the desolate, storm-swept Crow Island, and those involved are given cause to wonder… can believing in a curse deeply enough bring its own bad luck?
Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Eden, Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has also written many successful movie novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Tim has won a World Fantasy Award, four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.
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"Secret Lives of the Dead deftly mixes folk horror and the grand heist-goes-wrong tale, as well as introduces us to a truly unforgettable villain in Lem. This book is a tense, moody white-knuckler sure to send a creeping chill up your spine." - Paul Tremblay, New York Times-bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts


"If Britbox and Shudder wrote a book together, it might come out something like Tim Lebbon's genre-busting, dread-inducing crime horror novel Secret Lives of the Dead. Full of secrets, trauma, friendship, and curses, Lebbon's latest is a must-read!" – Christopher Golden, author of The Night Birds


"Secret Lives of the Dead is a riveting, wholly absorbing crime-chiller rooted in trauma and friendship. Tim Lebbon is a true master of unrelenting suspense and he continues to shock me and impress me in equal measure with his dark literary powers book after book." - Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke


"Tim lebbon, master of unforgettable characters, has crafted a pure evil, sinister and malignant entity with the ironically benign name of Lem; a monster masquerading in the body of a human; a man we would all pray never to meet even in our dreams. Evil has never worn a worthier face. Secret Lives Of The Dead is now my all-time favourite Lebbon book!" - Nuzo Onoh, Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award (R) Recipient and author of Where the Dead Brides Gather


"Great characters, an unstoppable, implacable evil, and pacing that grabs you by the hand and doesn't let go make Secret Lives of the Dead the perfect horror thriller. It had me from page one!" – Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor


“A propulsive, imaginative, page-turning heist-to-horror novel in which no one is safe. I absolutely burned through this book.” - Keith Rosson, author of Fever House


"Secret Lives of the Dead is both an eerie and original slice of folk-horror and a riveting, relentless psychological thriller that will very likely keep you up all night. I couldn't put it down. It may be Lebbon's best yet, and that's saying a lot." – Daniel Church, author of The Hollows






For Among the Living
The closest thing to an actual nightmare I’ve encountered on the page in a very long time. Among the Living is doom-laden, frantic, desperation horror of the highest order, filled with the most what-the-f**k twists you’ll read all year. Lebbon is a master. – Christopher Golden, New York Times-bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows


Among The Living may be Tim Lebbon’s best work yet. Riveting, immersive and timely, it pits flawed, damaged people in an unequal and desperate struggle to prevent a catastrophe that may be just around the corner for us all. Read it now. – Daniel Church, author of The Hollows


When it comes to ending the world, nobody does it better than Tim Lebbon, and Among the Living is his most intense, harrowing effort yet. – Brian Keene, Bram Stoker Award-winning author




For The Last Storm
Lebbon's prose sizzles on the page in this tale of extreme weather, revenge, and the longing for redemption... While King is an obvious lodestone for contemporary horror, Lebbon shares his talent for jolting the reader with shockingly vivid bursts of violence and transporting them inside the splintering psyche of a killer... This is genre fiction delivered with style and imagination – SFX (5 stars)


Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing. – Publishers Weekly


The Last Storm is a soaring near-future nightmare that breaks all the tired rules of apocalyptic fiction. The story’s ambition is only matched by the grim hope of Tim’s boundless, humane imagination. His best novel to date. – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearer’s Club


Tim Lebbon is always good, but this time he’s outdone himself. Dry climate and wet hopes collide in a compelling novel of terror and outstanding originality. – Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series


Expertly crafted horror that resonates with emotion and the messy complications of family. – Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author




For Eden
Instantly cinematic. A textured, thought-provoking thriller that will make you wonder what the world would be like if humans were to give it back. Eden is a story about family, humanity and the desire to re-experience the wonders we screwed up the first time around. Nobody is as smooth on the lettered keys as Tim Lebbon. Here, as with all his books, you are in the hands of a master. – Josh Malerman New York Times-bestselling author of Bird Box and A House at the Bottom of a Lake


Eden is both an eerie reimagining of our relationship with nature and a breathless page turning thriller. Tim Lebbon has created a vivid, wild world, filled with savagery and tenderness. It will haunt you. – Catriona Ward, author of Little Eve and Rawblood


Lebbon excels at portraying the phantasmagorical proliferation of nature within Eden, which is truly red in tooth and claw, and escalates the tension towards a gripping climax. – The Guardian

About

A dark folk horror tale of a deadly family curse, crime and murder that is sure to turn your blood cold, from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Netflix’s The Silence.

When Jodi, BB and Matt decide to burgle a derelict country home as a thrilling dare, they become embroiled in a twisted legacy of supernatural terror. There are rumours of a bizarre curse hanging over the hoard of antiques and jewellery within the house. And unbeknownst to the others, one member of the trio has darker motives for breaking into the property.

Lem is a brutal man obsessed with a gruesome family legend. He is determined to right the wrongs of the past and lift the curse placed on his bloodline. By completing the work of his father and bringing a bizarre selection of scattered relics back together, he hopes to be free of the malign influence that has hounded every generation of his family for two centuries.

Across a single day a deadly pursuit will culminate on the desolate, storm-swept Crow Island, and those involved are given cause to wonder… can believing in a curse deeply enough bring its own bad luck?

Creators

Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Eden, Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has also written many successful movie novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Tim has won a World Fantasy Award, four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.

Praise

"Secret Lives of the Dead deftly mixes folk horror and the grand heist-goes-wrong tale, as well as introduces us to a truly unforgettable villain in Lem. This book is a tense, moody white-knuckler sure to send a creeping chill up your spine." - Paul Tremblay, New York Times-bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts


"If Britbox and Shudder wrote a book together, it might come out something like Tim Lebbon's genre-busting, dread-inducing crime horror novel Secret Lives of the Dead. Full of secrets, trauma, friendship, and curses, Lebbon's latest is a must-read!" – Christopher Golden, author of The Night Birds


"Secret Lives of the Dead is a riveting, wholly absorbing crime-chiller rooted in trauma and friendship. Tim Lebbon is a true master of unrelenting suspense and he continues to shock me and impress me in equal measure with his dark literary powers book after book." - Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke


"Tim lebbon, master of unforgettable characters, has crafted a pure evil, sinister and malignant entity with the ironically benign name of Lem; a monster masquerading in the body of a human; a man we would all pray never to meet even in our dreams. Evil has never worn a worthier face. Secret Lives Of The Dead is now my all-time favourite Lebbon book!" - Nuzo Onoh, Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award (R) Recipient and author of Where the Dead Brides Gather


"Great characters, an unstoppable, implacable evil, and pacing that grabs you by the hand and doesn't let go make Secret Lives of the Dead the perfect horror thriller. It had me from page one!" – Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor


“A propulsive, imaginative, page-turning heist-to-horror novel in which no one is safe. I absolutely burned through this book.” - Keith Rosson, author of Fever House


"Secret Lives of the Dead is both an eerie and original slice of folk-horror and a riveting, relentless psychological thriller that will very likely keep you up all night. I couldn't put it down. It may be Lebbon's best yet, and that's saying a lot." – Daniel Church, author of The Hollows






For Among the Living
The closest thing to an actual nightmare I’ve encountered on the page in a very long time. Among the Living is doom-laden, frantic, desperation horror of the highest order, filled with the most what-the-f**k twists you’ll read all year. Lebbon is a master. – Christopher Golden, New York Times-bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows


Among The Living may be Tim Lebbon’s best work yet. Riveting, immersive and timely, it pits flawed, damaged people in an unequal and desperate struggle to prevent a catastrophe that may be just around the corner for us all. Read it now. – Daniel Church, author of The Hollows


When it comes to ending the world, nobody does it better than Tim Lebbon, and Among the Living is his most intense, harrowing effort yet. – Brian Keene, Bram Stoker Award-winning author




For The Last Storm
Lebbon's prose sizzles on the page in this tale of extreme weather, revenge, and the longing for redemption... While King is an obvious lodestone for contemporary horror, Lebbon shares his talent for jolting the reader with shockingly vivid bursts of violence and transporting them inside the splintering psyche of a killer... This is genre fiction delivered with style and imagination – SFX (5 stars)


Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing. – Publishers Weekly


The Last Storm is a soaring near-future nightmare that breaks all the tired rules of apocalyptic fiction. The story’s ambition is only matched by the grim hope of Tim’s boundless, humane imagination. His best novel to date. – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearer’s Club


Tim Lebbon is always good, but this time he’s outdone himself. Dry climate and wet hopes collide in a compelling novel of terror and outstanding originality. – Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series


Expertly crafted horror that resonates with emotion and the messy complications of family. – Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author




For Eden
Instantly cinematic. A textured, thought-provoking thriller that will make you wonder what the world would be like if humans were to give it back. Eden is a story about family, humanity and the desire to re-experience the wonders we screwed up the first time around. Nobody is as smooth on the lettered keys as Tim Lebbon. Here, as with all his books, you are in the hands of a master. – Josh Malerman New York Times-bestselling author of Bird Box and A House at the Bottom of a Lake


Eden is both an eerie reimagining of our relationship with nature and a breathless page turning thriller. Tim Lebbon has created a vivid, wild world, filled with savagery and tenderness. It will haunt you. – Catriona Ward, author of Little Eve and Rawblood


Lebbon excels at portraying the phantasmagorical proliferation of nature within Eden, which is truly red in tooth and claw, and escalates the tension towards a gripping climax. – The Guardian
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