{"product_id":"9780312624156","title":"The Birthing House : A Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Christopher Ransom\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA chilling ghost story that is also a tale of exquisite psychological suspense, \u003ci\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/i\u003e marks the debut of a writer whose first novel is a terrifying tour de force.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConrad and Joanna Harrison, a young couple from Los Angeles, attempt to save their marriage by leaving the pressures of the city to start anew in a quiet, rural setting.  They buy a Victorian mansion that once served as a haven for unwed mothers, called a birthing house.  One day when Joanna is away, the previous owner visits Conrad to bequeath a vital piece of the house's historic heritage, a photo album that he claims \"belongs to the house.\"  Thumbing through the old, sepia-colored photographs of midwives and fearful, unhappily pregnant girls in their starched, nineteenth-century dresses, Conrad is suddenly chilled to the bone: staring back at him with a countenance of hatred and rage is the image of his own wife….\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThus begins a story of possession, sexual obsession, and, ultimately, murder, as a centuries-old crime is reenacted in the present, turning Conrad and Joanna's American dream into a relentless nightmare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A blend of supernatural horror and psychological thriller, Ransom's impressive debut chronicles a couple's descent into madness after they purchase a 140-year-old Victorian house in rural Wisconsin . . . this addictively readable ghost story will keep readers up all night, with the lights on, of course.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A biting and well-written novel… The kind of genuinely scary story that makes little hairs stand up on the back of your neck… This is a rare thing: a ghost story with class. Read it.” —\u003ci\u003ePeter Blauner, author of the New York Times bestseller Slipping Into Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The birth of an exciting new voice in dark fiction… \u003ci\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/i\u003e is a book that will leave you holding your breath.” —\u003ci\u003eScott Nicholson, Bram Stoker Award finalist, author of They Hunger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Either I don't know my horror stories (and I do know my horror stories) or Christopher Ransom's \u003ci\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/i\u003e was so all-out scary that it kept me up until the wee hours in a way few novels have since Carrie went to the prom…. This book is killer.” —\u003ci\u003eJacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Terrifying and beautiful. I couldn't put \u003ci\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/i\u003e down.” —\u003ci\u003eSara Gran, author of Dope\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Birthing House\u003c\/i\u003e is as scary as they come…. It's quite simply a terrific novel.” —\u003ci\u003eMarcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An exceptional debut… Ransom's style mimics that of the early Stephen King and Dan Simmons's horror fiction (e.g., \u003ci\u003eA Winter Haunting\u003c\/i\u003e).” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A damn creepy, very original ghost story.” —\u003ci\u003eJack Ketchum, Bram Stoker Award winner, author of The Lost\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Fans of Shirley Jackson and Clive Cussler can rejoice, for a new voice in wickedly scary fiction has arrived.” —\u003ci\u003eIndiebound\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A stunning debut--swaddling the reader in dread from the very first sentence, and spiraling into a heart-stopping climax.” —\u003ci\u003eMichael Marshall, author of The Straw Men\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ransom has a distinctive narrative voice, and a Stephen King-like gift for the dreadful lurking behind the everyday. . . . The novel builds to a gripping climax that will make you think twice, maybe three times, about making an offer on that beautiful old fixer-upper.” —\u003ci\u003eSmartMoney magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Birthing House is the literary equivalent to Nirvana's semaphore effort In Utero . . . themed with birth, babies, and new beginnings . . . inviting the reader to share with [Ransom] an advent of existence that is steeped in blood and mystery. It's full of life, the prose like that of a professional, and certainly not a debut.” —\u003ci\u003eHorrorScope\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780312624156\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40637611245774,"sku":"9780312624156","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_4d9e173b-d220-450a-b5d8-839c8c911617.jpg?v=1639016948","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780312624156","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}