Whisper Down the Lane: A Novel

“A diabolically creepy hybrid of horror and psychological suspense that thrills as much as it unsettles.”—Riley Sager, New York Times best-selling author of Home Before DarkA pulse-pounding, true-crime-based horror novel inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and Satanic Panic of the ’80s.Richard doesn’t have a past. For him, there is only the present: a new marriage, a first chance at fatherhood, and a quiet life as an art teacher in Virginia. Then the body of a ritualistically murdered rabbit appears on his school’s playground, along with a birthday card for him. But Richard hasn’t celebrated his birthday since he was known as Sean . . .In the 1980s, Sean was five years old when his mother unwittingly led him to tell a lie about his teacher. When school administrators, cops, and therapists questioned him, he told another. And another. And another. Each was more outlandish than the last—and fueled a moral panic that engulfed the nation and destroyed the lives of everyone around him. Now, thirty years later, someone is here to tell Richard that they know what Sean did. But who would even know that these two are one and the same? Whisper Down the Lane is a tense and compulsively readable exploration of a world primed by paranoia to believe the unbelievable.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[A] spellbinding psychological thriller...a suspenseful tale of paranoia that will keep readers riveted until the last surprise is sprung.”

BookPage, starred review

“Within just a few pages you’ll have gotten enough shocking violence, overwhelming fear and psychological intrigue to keep you hooked for hours.”

Booklist

“Creepy and engaging, this is a tale for readers who enjoy true crime like We Believe the Children by Richard Beck (2015), horror like Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism (2016), and intensely disorienting psychological suspense like Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (2017).”

Library Journal

“This clever, creepy roller-coaster ride is perfect for fans of fast-paced horror with the flavor of true crime.”

SFFWorld

“A potent, compulsive thriller...one of the most gripping novels I’ve read this year.”

Daily Dead

“Satanic Panic,” creating a chilling, psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing and worrying, wondering what’s real.”

Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark

“Devilishly good. In Whisper Down the Lane, Clay McLeod Chapman has given us a diabolically creepy hybrid of horror and psychological suspense that thrills as much as it unsettles. You’ll keep turning the pages even as your hands shake.”

a truly diabolical nightmare that daylight can’t dispel

“A ruthlessly compelling novel, where two stories close on each other like a claw

Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters Praise for Clay McLeod Chapman

“In Whisper Down the Lane, Clay McLeod Chapman has gifted readers a novel that is darkly compelling, deeply discomfiting, and achingly human. We squirm as the dread and terror mount, but we can’t stop reading. We’re under the spell of a true storyteller, and bound to follow him wherever he takes us. Prepare to surrender some sleep for this twisting tale of family, memory, identity, and the weight of old sins.”

Andy Davidson, author of The Hollow Kind

“Chapman is the storyteller supreme.”

Rachel Harrison, national best-selling author of Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth

“One of horror’s modern masters.”

Library Journal

“A not-to-miss horror novelist.”

Mystery and Suspense Magazine

“Chapman is a maestro at building grim suspense to the point of unimaginable consequences, proving genuine horror dwells in the world we live in today.”

Richard Chizmar, New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Boogeyman

"Chapman is the 21st century’s Richard Matheson. He’s that good.”

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. Visit him at claymcleodchapman.com.

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