What Kind of Mother

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It's there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry's palm, she's haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it's coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman's reputation as a "star" (Vulture) and "the twenty-first century's Richard Matheson" (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman).

About the Author

Clay McLeod Chapman writes novels, comic books, and children's books, as well as for film and TV. He is the author of the horror novels The Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane, and Ghost Eaters. He also co-wrote Quiet Part Loud, a horror podcast produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw for Spotify.

Reviews

"Packed with profoundly unsettling scenes that'll slither under your skin and stay there long after you turn the last page." —Gabino Iglesias, New York Times Book Review

"A story that's as harrowing as it is sad and strange, What Kind of Mother is a superb addition to McLeod's catalog and proof that he is quickly becoming one of the strongest voices in contemporary horror fiction." —Locus Magazine

"An ink-black story about grief, courage, and what we'll do for those we love." —Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial

"What Kind of Mother mixes Southern Gothic, a missing child story, and body horror into an entertaining brew sure to inform your nightmares." —Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts

"I'm not sure how Clay McLeod Chapman manages to be both tremendously tender and brilliantly hideous in What Kind of Mother, but he does—in this strange, poetic, and gut-wrenching portrait of parenthood." —Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse

Dimensions: 13.28 x 2.13 x 20.27 cm