James Hastings seems to have it all - a good career, a big house, a glamorous life on the fringes of Hollywood celebrity. But when his wife Stacey dies in a horrific car crash, James suddenly finds himself alone in their sprawling mansion. Feeding on James’s grief and isolation, the house draws close around him, haunting his nights with terror and guilt, and over the course of the following months it becomes increasingly clear that something - or someone - in the house doesn’t want James to move on. His emerging friendship with the beautiful Annette Copeland, recently moved into the house next door, offers some comfort. But Annette is fighting demons of her own and as she draws James into a claustrophobic spiral of violence, possession and psychological terror, James finally sees the true face of the evil that has brought them together...

When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion. . .

From the AuthorIf the author is fortunate, he completes each of his novels feeling as though he has done his best work yet. But knowing whether this is true is a tricky business, a subjective business, and ultimately left up to each reader who comes to the book. Does it matter that I think The People Next Door is my best novel to date? Perhaps, perhaps not. But since I've been allowed this space to speak of it, all I can do is tell you why I am proud of this book. I believe that whatever strengths I have developed as a writer and storyteller are more present in this novel than in either of my previous two. Intriguing characters that might remind you of your friends, neighbors, or own family members. Suspense, mystery, the ongoing demand to know what happens next. Unsettling events that disturb our everyday lives. The sense that something here is sliding out of control, and that maybe this thing is our own family, our loved ones. Fear, creepiness, a gnawing dread. Hunger, passion, longing, appetite, and the cost of being human. Passages that engage and make us cringe, laugh, and sometimes scream. The underbelly of suburbia exposed, tickled, prodded, and occasionally shocked. A scary novel that is about more than being scared. If these are the elements readers have responded to in my previous novels, then I should think many of the same readers - and hopefully some new ones - will find much to like about this new one. Growing pains, financial strains, neighborhood envy, parental anxiety, the fragility of the American Dream at the dawn of the century's second decade. With The People Next Door, I set out to write a novel that deals in the absurdities and terrors of keeping our families intact, alive, and thriving. Did I succeed? I can't answer that with certainty, but I can say that it's my best attempt to do what I do best. I hope you enjoy The People Next Door, and that they stick with you a while after you have turned the last page. --Christopher Ransom About the AuthorChristopher Ransom is the author of the international bestselling novelsThe Birthing House, The Haunting of James Hastings, and The People Next Door. After studying literature at Colorado State University and managing an international business importing exotic reptiles, he worked at Entertainment Weekly magazine in New York, various now deceased technology firms in Los Angeles, and as a copywriter at Famous Footwear in Madison, Wisconsin. Christopher now lives near his hometown of Boulder, Colorado.