Caleb Stephens

Grant Wilson has never been happier. He and his wife Avery are expecting their first baby, they have a home in the Colorado countryside, and life feels genuinely good. Then, during a hike through the remote Uncompahgre National Forest — a trail Avery found on Reddit — two masked men abduct her in broad daylight. The instructions Grant receives are bizarre: if he wants Avery back, he must solve a series of increasingly outrageous riddles, each one arriving before the next, each one show more raising the stakes. The clock is ticking, the puzzles keep escalating, and Grant has no idea who's behind any of it or why his pregnant wife was targeted. Told across multiple perspectives and timelines, the novel constantly shifts what you think you know. Compared to Adrian McKinty's The Chain for its propulsive chained-task structure, and to Gillian Flynn and Freida McFadden for its twists. Blurbed by Noelle Ihli and Freida McFadden. BookTok darling. November 2025 debut from a Denver-based author.

[May contain spoilers]
The "Avery" Grant has been married to is not who she claims to be. Her real name is Bailey — a woman who lost her own family in a tragedy connected to a con man named Reed, and who has spent years building a new identity specifically to get close to Reed and destroy him. The kidnapping and riddle game is not random — it's an elaborate revenge scheme with multiple moving parts, involving a man named Zane who eventually betrays Bailey when his own daughter's life is threatened. Reed himself is a hollow manipulator who, as the novel progresses, confronts the consequences of his own actions. The ending wraps things up more completely than some readers wanted — a few found it too neat — but the emotional gut-punch of Bailey's backstory, involving child loss and grief, lands hard.
What I think: This is propulsive, twisty, and emotionally heavier than it looks on the surface — the riddle-game premise is The Chain energy but the backstory is genuinely devastating. The multiple timelines and identity reveals keep things moving fast. The ending being a touch too tidy might knock it slightly. show less

I've been a fan of Caleb Stephens' writing ever since I came across his short stories, and sure enough, this novel only amplified the gorgeous power of his prose into a larger story and ever more addictive storytelling. The story here is packed with characters who are sometimes painfully easy to see as real, which only adds to the terror of the story.

That terror is something I have to touch on also... I went into this expecting a psychological thriller, but I'd be hard-pressed not to call show more this book horror. At the very least, it resides in a grey area between suspense and horror, with utterly terrifying scenes, characters, and twists combining with graphic violence to make for a book that, if released in theaters, would absolutely be considered horror. With that in mind, I'm tempted to say it will be too dark for plenty of thriller readers, but more than enough to satisfy horror readers who might generally forego thrillers. But, beyond genre...

What's most important here is that the family that fills these pages--families, really--offer emotional impacts that go far beyond the pages. I had to take breaks from reading just to give myself a respite from the too-real-feeling terror at times, and I have no doubt that the characters and situations here will haunt me well into the future.

Absolutely recommended. show less

I had the thrill of reading the stories in this collection early, but I suspect some of the horror stories here will remain long-time favorites going forward. Stephens' talent for crafting powerful, nuanced horror shines through in every story here, with powerful and gorgeously written imagery bringing the horror as well as the humanity in each tale to full life. I'm rarely surprised when reading horror shorts, but with this collection, even some of the shorter stories shocked me with their show more turns. But in the good way--where, looking back as a reader, you're surprised you didn't see the reveal coming even as you find that you're still shocked. In other words, Stephens earns the reveals and twists in each story, and he does so with an attention to detail that cannot be understated. I'm a sucker for gorgeous prose and images done right, and that's what broadcasts from the page with every story here.

Worth noting also is the fact that although the collection holds together thematically, the themes and the stories never get old or repetitive. Like a great music album, the collection uses each piece to tweak a slightly different note on what's being explored, in an ever more unique fashion, and the collection is that much stronger for it.

If you're a lover of horror stories, this is a collection to pick up, and an author to watch.

Absolutely recommended. show less

Chris has lost his wife to cancer. He decides to take his two daughters Kayla who is 15 and 9 year old Emma camping. Emma runs off and falls and gets a broken leg. With the weather turning the family has to get shelter and help. They then come across the cabin in the woods.

This is the first time I've read anything by the author and I'm quite impressed. This book i thought was going to be a horror but I would say it's more of a thriller although very scary at times.

The story should come with show more alot of trigger warnings such as child rage, mental health issues and lots of gore.

The story certainly has some typical tropes. There is the house in the woods in an isolated setting and there is a snow storm. The owner of the house Clara seems welcoming enough but this is a horror/thriller so think again. The name Annie Wilkes comes to mind, IYKYK.

This book certainly kept me on my toes and I didnt know how much more the family could endure. The story did venture into thrillerland at the end. There was one major twist which i didn't see coming and I had to go back and reread the page.

Overall I did quite enjoy the book and would read more by the author. show less