Left Bank Books presents debut St. Louis author S.L. Coney, who will discuss the book that Alma Katsu says is "tells a terrible truth in the most achingly beautiful way", Wild Spaces in our store on August 1st at 7pm! Join us for the LAUNCH EVENT in the store or on our YouTube Live Page. Coney will be in conversation with St. Louis' Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award- nominated author Laura Benedict!

Order signed and personalized copies of Wild Spaces from Left Bank Books to support authors and independent bookstores! Those unable to attend, may leave personalization note in order.

About the Book

Robert R. McCammon's Boy's Life meets Lovecraftian horror in this foreboding, sensual coming-of-age debut in which the corrosive nature of family secrets and toxic relatives assume eldritch proportions.

"Can a horror story be beautiful? Wild Spaces tells a terrible truth in the most achingly beautiful way."--Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor

An eleven-year-old boy lives an idyllic childhood exploring the remote coastal plains and wetlands of South Carolina alongside his parents and his dog Teach. But when the boy's eerie and estranged grandfather shows up one day with no warning, cracks begin to form as hidden secrets resurface that his parents refuse to explain.

The longer his grandfather outstays his welcome and the greater the tension between the adults grows, the more the boy feels something within him changing --physically--into something his grandfather welcomes and his mother fears. Something abyssal. Something monstrous.

About the Authors

S.L. Coney obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology before abandoning academia to pursue a writing career. The author has ties to South Carolina, and roots in St. Louis. Coney's work has appeared in St. Louis Noir, Best American Mystery Stories 2017, and Gamut Magazine.

Laura Benedict is the Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award- nominated author of seven novels of suspense, including the forthcoming The Stranger Inside (February 2019). On the lighter side of mystery, Laura wrote Small Town Trouble, a cozy crime novel, for the Familiar Legacy series. Her Bliss House gothic trilogy includes: The Abandoned Heart, Charlotte’s Story (Booklist starred review), and Bliss House. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and in numerous anthologies like Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads, The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, and St. Louis Noir. A native of Cincinnati, she lives in Southern Illinois with her family.

Review Quotes

"Can a horror story be beautiful? Wild Spaces tells a terrible truth in the most achingly beautiful way."--Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor

Left Bank Books presents debut St. Louis author S.L. Coney, who will discuss the book that Alma Katsu says is "tells a terrible truth in the most achingly beautiful way", Wild Spaces in our store on August 1st at 7pm! Join us for the LAUNCH EVENT in the store or on our YouTube Live Page. Coney will be in conversation with St. Louis' Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award- nominated author Laura Benedict!

Order signed and personalized copies of Wild Spaces from Left Bank Books to support authors and independent bookstores! Those unable to attend, may leave personalization note in order.