Our Winter Monster

by Dennis Mahoney Narrated by Morgan Hallett

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The holidays are hard for everyone, but especially Holly and Brian, who find themselves stranded in the snow after a car wreck. But the frigid cold is the least of their problems when the real monsters appear in this chilling tale.

A chilling horror story about an unhappy couple running from their problems and straight into the maw of a terrifying beast, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay and Sara Gran

For the last year, Holly and Brian have been out of sync. Neither can forget what happened that one winter evening; neither can forgive what's happened since. Tonight, Holly and Brian race toward Pinebuck, New York, trying to outrun a blizzard on their way to the ski village getaway they hope will save their relationship. But soon they lose control of the car-and then of themselves.

Now Sheriff Kendra Book is getting calls about a couple in trouble-along with reports of a brutal and mysterious creature rampaging through town, leaving a trail of crushed cars, wrecked buildings, and mangled bodies in the snow.

To Kendra, who lost another couple to the snow just seven weeks ago, the danger feels personal. But not as personal as it feels to Holly and Brian, who are starting to see the past, the present, and themselves in a monstrous new light ...

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Our Winter Monster

A Goodreads Editors’ Pick
Kirkus Reviews’s 20 Most Addictive Books of 2025 (So Far)
Goodreads Readers’ Most Anticipated Horror Novels of 2025

“Dennis Mahoney continues to build off his explorations into our universal fears of loneliness & inadequacy with a novel firmly set in the horror genre.”
—WAMC’s The Roundtable

“A wonderful mix of pulpy horror and crime . . . Fast-paced [and] full of chaos . . . Our Winter Monster is just like the blizzard at its core: relentless and constantly violent. There is a lot to like here, but the thing that stands out the most is how the author managed to fill a campy, gory monster tale with complex, en­gaging, diverse characters.”
—Gabino Iglesias, Locus Magazine

“Satisfying . . . A hectic, gory, and heartfelt horror story.”
—Reactor

“Our Winter Monster is a truly satisfying blend of supernatural, survival, and physiological horror. Just as surprising as it is heartbreaking, every page pulls you deeper into a storm that you’ll never forget.”
—Erin E. Adams, author of Jackal

“Like a couples therapy session straight out of our nightmares, Our Winter Monster serves up a slab of profoundly unsettling relationship terror—probing into the very nature of love by exploring what brings us together and what tears us apart—while ripping the reader to pieces in the process. Dennis Mahoney is just the horror counselor we readers need to see us through this gripping chiller and survive.”
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

“Dennis Mahoney’s Our Winter Monster is all the fun of ’80s horror through a modern lens—wild, gleeful horror at its best.”
—Sarah Langan, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Good Neighbors

“While Our Winter Monster is a full-tilt horror story, it’s also a moving, nuanced character study of trauma and grief, and what happens when our hearts insist on beating after the worst days of our lives. Mahoney’s a craftsman.”
—Keith Rosson, author of Fever House

“A fun and frightening descent into the complexities of human connection and the monsters that reveal our innermost worries. Dennis Mahoney’s Our Winter Monster blends a blistering pace with tremendous heart and empathy, the kind that feels like a guiding hand through the darkness. Mahoney’s got the chops; he’s here to scare you shitless while also proving that nobody is ever lost to the frigid temperatures.”
—Michael J. Seidlinger, author of Anybody Home? and The Body Harvest

“An expertly plotted novel about the difficulties of love and proper communication set against the backdrop of a monster movie. It's just so much fun.”
—Underbrush Books, Top New Horror Books of 2025

“Its atmospheric setting, layered characters, and exploration of trauma make [Our Winter Monster] a worthwhile read . . . The snowstorm becomes a character in itself – a silent, omnipresent force that amplifies the isolation and danger the characters face.”
—Just Read It Already

“A couple on a road trip to fix their marriage instead find themselves stranded in a snowstorm and facing a supernatural threat of epic proportions. [Our Winter Monster] has the same vibes as cult classic I’m Thinking of Ending Things, but with a snowstorm ratcheting the tension way up.”
—CrimeReads

“At its bitter, frosty heart, Our Winter Monster is an exploration of the human condition. Holly and Brian’s tumultuous relationship is painted with unflinching honesty . . . A compelling read that is icily introspective, quietly horrific in some areas, and unapologetically terrifying in others.”
—FanFiAddict

“Our Winter Monster merges two classic horror tropes, the small town and the monster of the week, to lay the groundwork for a tale that is at once somber and frightening . . . Mahoney’s narrative spell is empathetic.”
—The Lineup

“I am a complete sucker for a cold-weather horror novel. Here, a couple heads out on a quick vacation to escape a past mistake—and an incoming blizzard—only to find themselves in the path of a mysterious creature. Let’s just say this ski trip promises more dangers than black diamonds.”
—Goodreads Editors’ January Book Picks

“A couple grapples with monstrosity in this tense horror novel . . . Mahoney pulls it off beautifully, with legitimately terrifying action scenes and a creeping sense of horror threaded through the book. But where he shines brightest is in his depiction—sensitive and accurate—of post-traumatic stress and anxiety . . . Smart, sensitive, and scary as hell.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Ideal for fans of horror like Darcy Coates’s Dead of Winter, this novel is crime fiction blended with horror and psychological suspense. Mahoney has created a work that combines a monster story with the claustrophobia of a massive blizzard while also exploring PTSD and its effects on relationships and individuals.”
—Library Journal

“Horrific scenes of blood-strewn havoc are eased by plaintive scenes of clarity wherein the balance between being in control, forgetting yourself, and the unstoppable burden of change is cast in a flurrying light. With a broken relationship as its psychological bedrock, the horror novel Our Winter Monster is like a nightmare couple’s therapy session you can’t help but spy on.”
—Foreword Reviews

“Plenty of in-the-moment tension to hook readers’ interest . . . [and] plenty of blood and guts to keep horror fans happy.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Will chill you to the bone . . . Not only does [Our Winter Monster] read like a throwback, old-school horror novel — or a beloved B-horror film — it leaves enough to the imagination that readers will be beside themselves with appreciation while they are being properly scared.”
—Bookreporter


Praise for Dennis Mahoney

“With its openly bleeding heart and philosopher’s spirit, the odd and undeniably affecting Ghostlove explores ways in which we haunt ourselves.”
―Paul Tremblay, New York Times Book Review

“Quietly powerful . . . Mahoney can share shelf space with Dave Eggers and Stewart O'Nan.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“A thoughtful examination on how tragedy can change different people in different ways . . . It also reveals how we often avoid confronting the fear and pain that manifests in our thoughts.”
—Zyzzyva

“Mahoney crafts sentences that take your breath away.”
―The Times Union (Albany)

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-10-11
A couple grapples with monstrosity in this tense horror novel.

Holly and Brian need a break. The couple have had a rough year, recovering from a horrible incident that left them both with severe post-traumatic stress; Holly has coped by throwing herself into her work, while Brian has developed debilitating anxiety: “They’re too far apart and always drifting further. He doesn’t understand how she keeps getting stronger, and she doesn’t understand why he keeps getting weaker.” They decide to take an “emergency vacation” to the village of Pinebuck, New York, where they plan to drink, eat, and relax in a B&B. Unfortunately, a blizzard hits the town, and the couple’s car crashes en route after having been followed by “a giant, white shape that doesn’t blow apart and almost looks solid.” It turns out to be a snow monster that leaves a trail of destruction wherever it goes, which of course draws the attention of the town’s beleaguered sheriff, Kendra Book; she suspects that Holly and Brian are actually behind the carnage—and in a way, she’s right. “One: there’s a monster,” Holly explains to Brian. “Two: we’re the monster. It’s you, and then it’s me, and after me it goes to you again.” It’s an off-kilter premise, but Mahoney pulls it off beautifully, with legitimately terrifying action scenes and a creeping sense of horror threaded through the book. But where he shines brightest is in his depiction—sensitive and accurate—of post-traumatic stress and anxiety: “Happiness was dangerous,” he writes of Brian. “He had to keep his guard up. He watched for threats and problems and began to see them everywhere. But much of what he did to minimize trouble had the opposite effect and made things worse.” There are two monsters in the book: one made of snow, the other made of psychological anguish. Mahoney does an excellent job illustrating how terrifying both are.

Smart, sensitive, and scary as hell.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193680857
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	01/28/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos