When We Talk to the Dead: A Novel

by Ian Chorao

Overview

The island was abandoned years ago–but something dark was left behind, and it’s waiting for those bold enough to return.

Perfect for fans of Iain Reid, this slow-burning horror novel will sweep you out, and like a churning ocean, before you realize, it will pull you under its turbulent spell.

A remote deserted island off the coast of Maine holds dark memories and disturbing secrets for the family who once lived on its rocky shores. Though nineteen-year-old Sally de Gama remembers nothing about the accident that took place on Captain’s Island and destroyed her family when she was a little girl, she suffers from intense anxiety, pervasive bouts of dissociation, and gruesome nightmares. 

All Sally knows is that her mother hasn’t spoken since the accident that took the life of Sally’s twin sister. Following the tragedy, her family fled and never looked back. 

When her mother suddenly dies, Sally and three college friends travel to the island–for her friends it’s an adventure to a strange, abandoned place. For Sally, it’s a desperate bid to recover some of her memories and understand what really happened to her family. But when memories begin to return, Sally is overcome by grief and rage that threaten to plunge her into madness–a madness that is fed by a malevolent presence stalking them on the island.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798892423526
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ian Chorão is a writer and psychotherapist in private practice in Brooklyn, New York. He lives with his wife, who is a filmmaker and professor; they have two children. Like his main character he appreciates that the space between feeling and creation, realty and imagination is often ambiguous at best. This is his first book of horror.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for When We Talk to the Dead:
“Chorao’s novel feels almost like a cave painting of a story, full of symbolism . . . A slow-burning feast of adolescent confusion with the weight of trauma . . . [For] fans of Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare and This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer.”
—Library Journal

“[A] startling debut . . . Perfect reading for Halloween or anytime you want to feel terrified.”
—SFRevu

“While there’s no doubt When We Talk to the Dead is a horror novel, it’s also deeply (and mindfully) psychological, as if Ian Chorao has rendered both the narrator and reader part of a brilliant therapy session. The malevolence is met by the rich characters within, yes, but by Chorao himself, too, as his mastery as a writer (and thinker) is on full display. Highly recommended.”
–Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Incidents Around the House

“You said there was something off about this place,” one of Ian Chorao’s characters says to another, and they’re right. You’d think a group of hipster undergrads returning to one’s long-abandoned house on a cursed island would know better than to mess with a Ouija board and shoot horror shorts for their social, but no. When We Talk to the Dead is a fun, old-school dark ride. “So we’re totally lost?” Yes, yes we are.”
—Stewart O’Nan, bestselling author of The Speed Queen and The Night Country

“The dread lingers long after the final page. You won't be booking any island getaways after this atmospheric slow-burn that puts horror and grief on equal footing.”
—Neena Viel, author of Listen to your Sister

From the Publisher