The Book of Accidents: A Novel

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A family returns to their hometown--and to the dark past that haunts them still--in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

LOCUS AWARD FINALIST - "The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns--I haven't felt all this so intensely since The Shining."--Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father--and has never told his family what happened there.

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn't have--and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family--and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.

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560 pages

Average rating: 7.39

38 RATINGS

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10 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

HostileGma3
Sep 04, 2024
6/10 stars
Interesting. I love the concept, I’m not sure that I’m in love with the authors writing style, but nonetheless, I finished it and enjoyed it.
KBenoit
May 17, 2024
10/10 stars
4.5 Stars
Jmaybay
Mar 08, 2024
5/10 stars
"𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬..." 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕔𝕔𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 - Cᴴᵁᴄᴷ Wᴱᴺᴰᴵᴳ ⭐ ( 5 / 10 ) I dunno. I dont know what posessed me to pick it up, what said, yeah this one read this one. I dont read the book summaries. I'm like the people who don't watch trailers they just go. I'm not one of THOSE people. I'll watch all the trailers. Anyway! I'm assuming this cover looking like Texas Chain Saw house in the horror section. I'm in. That's the only reason I can think of. I am however, glad I did, but I only gave it 3 1/2 stars. Yes, BUT thats because this is one of those books that gives me Author wasn't sure how to finish, kept rolling out more to fill in some plot holes. But sometimes doing that can be a bit much. Nathan lived in a small rural town growing up with an abusive papa and Maddie grew up in the same town making dolls and creepy sculptures. The two move out of the town get married and decide to move back with their son Oliver but theres something sinister inside and outside of their small town. But does it have anything to do with Nate and Maddie and who is this hillbilly new boy thay Oliver's been hanging out with?! And what's this book that they just so happened to stumble upon First! The book caught me in page one. And then proceeded to keep me in a choke hold until the last couple of chapters where we were trying to wrap up. I was thoroughly confused, a little creeped reading in my room while home alone. But it was great. It gave me a lot of Stephen King vibes, definitely It and a bit of one particular Avenger's movie and I dug all of it wrapped in a bow and how it was strung together. Seriously, what is work and real life and why do I need it? Getting in my way. Pɪᴄᴋ ᴛʜɪs ᴜᴘ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ: Stephen King's It. Avengers, Kindred, 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Death, Domestic Violence, Murder, Bullying, Animal death, Mass/School Shooting, Genocide, suicidal thoughts... All the warnings. They are brief and I mean BRIEFLY touched on and not graphic 𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕪 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝘑𝘢𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘖𝘶𝘵
deebags
Jul 23, 2023
8/10 stars
This was a really good read that kept me on the edge of my seat. The book is not what i expected from the title. The turns it took were awesome and just added that extra wtf. I couldn't stop reading. The ending was meh but i can forgive it. Definitely recommend this book if you want something that's out there.
rshormsby
Jun 21, 2023
6/10 stars
It took until I got to the Blake Crouch-like bits for me get interested. Not what I expected, but not bad.

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