Secret Lives of the Dead

by Tim Lebbon

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781835413555
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	08/26/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.11(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

"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


"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


"Lebbon's latest proves without question that he is a master at his craft. Is this his best book to date? Impossible to say, given the richness of his catalog. But I will confess to being powerless to put this book down, and the final denouement will leave you breathless as only Tim Lebbon can. Just a goddamn treat for fans of dark fiction, period!" – Ronald Malfi, Bram Stoker Award (R) recipient and author of Small Town Horror


“Secret Lives of the Dead is a knotted and twisted mix of crime and horror. The mystery revolving around the darkest parts of grief is a tale best read at night. Instant preorder.” – V. Castro, Bram Stoker Award (R)-nominated author of The Haunting of Alejandra


"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


"A rocket-fueled, blood-soaked tale of cat and mouse with a witch's curse as its beating heart... Secret Lives of the Dead is a wholly original thriller." – Christina Henry, author of Alice and The House that Horror Built


"Tim Lebbon has hand-crafted a stunning hard-boiled artifact of horror noir, equal parts witchcraft and crime, blood and heartwood, serving as further testament to his supernatural abilities as one of contemporary speculative fiction's leading alchemists." – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes


"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


“Secret Lives of the Dead is a gore-splattered white-knuckled race with the Devil of a novel. Devour it before it devours you.” – Martyn Waites, author of The Woman in Black


“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


“A horror novel so good it tangles itself in your bones.” – Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart


"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


“Secret Lives of the Dead is a breakneck-paced, brutal and horrifying supernatural thriller. Just when you think Tim Lebbon is at the top of his game, he claws himself further up the tree.” – Daniel Barnett, author of Scuttler’s Cove

“In Secret Lives of the Dead, Tim Lebbon masterfully presents a revenge and vindication story as folk tale. One family’s salvation may be another family’s destruction. Lebbon weaves the pulse of obsession and suspense, and layers it with a blood-soaked mystery. A captivating and complex horror novel!”
Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award ®-winning author of Vanishing Daughters

From the Publisher