Our Winter Monster

(Paperback)

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Description

Chilling holiday horror about an unhappy couple running from their problems and straight into the maw of a terrifying beast, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay and Sara Gran Chilling holiday horror about an unhappy couple running from their problems and straight into the maw of a terrifying beast, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay and Sara Gran For the last year, Holly and Brian have been out of sync. Neither can forget what happened that one winter evening; neither can forgive what's happened since. Tonight, Holly and Brian race toward Pinebuck, New York, trying to outrun a blizzard on their way to the ski village getaway they hope will save their relationship. But soon they lose control of the car-and then of themselves. Now Sheriff Kendra Book is getting calls about a couple in trouble-along with reports of a brutal and mysterious creature rampaging through town, leaving a trail of crushed cars, wrecked buildings, and mangled bodies in the snow. To Kendra, who lost another couple to the snow just seven weeks ago, the danger feels personal. But not as personal as it feels to Holly and Brian, who are starting to see the past, the present, and themselves in a monstrous new light . . . Mahoney's exhilarating story moves like an avalanche, but its desperate characters, claustrophobic setting, and shocking displays of gore will stay with you long after the snow has melted. Our Winter Monster captures the horrifying moments that test if we're strong enough to weather the worst-and asks who we might survive the storm with.

Reviews

Praise for Our Winter Monster

A Goodreads Editors Pick
Kirkus Reviewss 20 Most Addictive Books of 2025 (So Far)
Goodreads Readers Most Anticipated Horror Novels of 2025

Dennis Mahoney continues to build off his explorations into our universal fears of loneliness & inadequacy with a novel firmly set in the horror genre.
WAMCs The Roundtable

A wonderful mix of pulpy horror and crime . . . Fast-paced [and] full of chaos . . . Our Winter Monster is just like the blizzard at its core: relentless and constantly violent. There is a lot to like here, but the thing that stands out the most is how the author managed to fill a campy, gory monster tale with complex, engaging, diverse characters.
Gabino Iglesias, Locus Magazine

Satisfying . . . A hectic, gory, and heartfelt horror story.
Reactor

Our Winter Monster is a truly satisfying blend of supernatural, survival, and physiological horror. Just as surprising as it is heartbreaking, every page pulls you deeper into a storm that youll never forget.
Erin E. Adams, author of Jackal

Like a couples therapy session straight out of our nightmares, Our Winter Monster serves up a slab of profoundly unsettling relationship terrorprobing into the very nature of love by exploring what brings us together and what tears us apartwhile ripping the reader to pieces in the process. Dennis Mahoney is just the horror counselor we readers need to see us through this gripping chiller and survive.
Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

Dennis Mahoneys Our Winter Monster is all the fun of 80s horror through a modern lenswild, gleeful horror at its best.
Sarah Langan, Bram Stoker Awardwinning author of Good Neighbors

While Our Winter Monster is a full-tilt horror story, its also a moving, nuanced character study of trauma and grief, and what happens when our hearts insist on beating after the worst days of our lives. Mahoneys a craftsman.
Keith Rosson, author of Fever House

A fun and frightening descent into the complexities of human connection and the monsters that reveal our innermost worries. Dennis Mahoneys Our Winter Monster blends a blistering pace with tremendous heart and empathy, the kind that feels like a guiding hand through the darkness. Mahoneys got the chops; hes here to scare you shitless while also proving that nobody is ever lost to the frigid temperatures.
Michael J. Seidlinger, author of Anybody Home and The Body Harvest

An expertly plotted novel about the difficulties of love and proper communication set against the backdrop of a monster movie. It's just so much fun.
Underbrush Books, Top New Horror Books of 2025

Its atmospheric setting, layered characters, and exploration of trauma make [Our Winter Monster] a worthwhile read . . . The snowstorm becomes a character in itself a silent, omnipresent force that amplifies the isolation and danger the characters face.
Just Read It Already

A couple on a road trip to fix their marriage instead find themselves stranded in a snowstorm and facing a supernatural threat of epic proportions. [Our Winter Monster] has the same vibes as cult classic Im Thinking of Ending Things, but with a snowstorm ratcheting the tension way up.
CrimeReads

At its bitter, frosty heart, Our Winter Monster is an exploration of the human condition. Holly and Brians tumultuous relationship is painted with unflinching honesty . . . A compelling read that is icily introspective, quietly horrific in some areas, and unapologetically terrifying in others.
FanFiAddict

Our Winter Monster merges two classic horror tropes, the small town and the monster of the week, to lay the groundwork for a tale that is at once somber and frightening . . . Mahoneys narrative spell is empathetic.
The Lineup

I am a complete sucker for a cold-weather horror novel. Here, a couple heads out on a quick vacation to escape a past mistakeand an incoming blizzardonly to find themselves in the path of a mysterious creature. Lets just say this ski trip promises more dangers than black diamonds.
Goodreads Editors January Book Picks

A couple grapples with monstrosity in this tense horror novel . . . Mahoney pulls it off beautifully, with legitimately terrifying action scenes and a creeping sense of horror threaded through the book. But where he shines brightest is in his depictionsensitive and accurateof post-traumatic stress and anxiety . . . Smart, sensitive, and scary as hell.
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Ideal for fans of horror like Darcy Coatess Dead of Winter, this novel is crime fiction blended with horror and psychological suspense. Mahoney has created a work that combines a monster story with the claustrophobia of a massive blizzard while also exploring PTSD and its effects on relationships and individuals.
Library Journal

Horrific scenes of blood-strewn havoc are eased by plaintive scenes of clarity wherein the balance between being in control, forgetting yourself, and the unstoppable burden of change is cast in a flurrying light. With a broken relationship as its psychological bedrock, the horror novel Our Winter Monster is like a nightmare couples therapy session you cant help but spy on.
Foreword Reviews

Plenty of in-the-moment tension to hook readers interest . . . [and] plenty of blood and guts to keep horror fans happy.
Publishers Weekly

Will chill you to the bone . . . Not only does [Our Winter Monster] read like a throwback, old-school horror novel or a beloved B-horror film it leaves enough to the imagination that readers will be beside themselves with appreciation while they are being properly scared.
Bookreporter


Praise for Dennis Mahoney

With its openly bleeding heart and philosophers spirit, the odd and undeniably affecting Ghostlove explores ways in which we haunt ourselves.
Paul Tremblay, New York Times Book Review

Quietly powerful . . . Mahoney can share shelf space with Dave Eggers and Stewart O'Nan.
Booklist, Starred Review

A thoughtful examination on how tragedy can change different people in different ways . . . It also reveals how we often avoid confronting the fear and pain that manifests in our thoughts.
Zyzzyva

Mahoney crafts sentences that take your breath away.
The Times Union (Albany)

Author Bio

Dennis Mahoney is the author of Fellow Mortals, a Booklist Top Ten Debut; Bell Weather, an Indie Next pick; Ghostlove; and My Heart Is Full of Blood. He lives in Troy, NY, with his wife, son, and dog.