New York Times
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Keith Donohue delivers a chilling literary horror novel that explores the thin boundary between imagination and reality. The story follows ten-year-old Jack Peter Keenan, a boy imprisoned by his own fears after a near-drowning incident three years prior. Confined to his Maine coastal home, Jack Peter channels his anxiety into drawing monsters—creatures that soon begin to manifest in terrifying ways that threaten everyone around him.

What sets this apart from typical horror is Donohue’s masterful character development and atmospheric storytelling. Each family member experiences their own haunting: Holly hears eerie ocean sounds, Tim searches desperately for phantom figures in the dunes, and Jack Peter’s friend Nick becomes ensnared by the supernatural power of the drawings. The narrative weaves together multiple perspectives, creating a tapestry of psychological tension that builds steadily toward its unsettling conclusion.

Who Is This For?

This book appeals to readers who appreciate literary horror that prioritizes psychological depth over cheap scares. Fans of Shirley Jackson, Henry James, and atmospheric ghost stories will find themselves captivated by Donohue’s prose. It’s perfect for those who enjoyed The Turn of the Screw or The Stolen Child and want fiction that lingers in your mind long after the final page. If you prefer character-driven narratives where the horror emerges from human emotion and family dynamics rather than gore, this delivers exactly that experience.

Bottom Line

Donohue crafts a haunting exploration of childhood trauma, parental helplessness, and the dangerous power of imagination. The coastal Maine setting adds authentic texture, while the interweaving storylines create genuine suspense. This isn’t a quick beach read—it’s a thoughtful, unsettling novel that rewards patient readers with rich atmosphere and emotional resonance. For anyone seeking intelligent horror fiction that respects your intelligence while still delivering genuine chills, this stands out as a compelling choice.

  • From the
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author of
  • The Stolen Child
  • comes a hypnotic literary horror novel about a young boy trapped inside his own world, whose drawings blur the lines between fantasy and reality.
  • Ever since he nearly drowned in the ocean three years earlier, ten-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been deathly afraid to venture outdoors. Refusing to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine, Jack Peter spends his time drawing monsters. When those drawings take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror they inspire. His mother, Holly, begins to hear strange sounds in the night coming from the ocean, and she seeks answers from the local Catholic priest and his Japanese housekeeper, who fill her head with stories of shipwrecks and ghosts. His father, Tim, wanders the beach, frantically searching for a strange apparition running wild in the dunes. And the boy’s only friend, Nick, becomes helplessly entangled in the eerie power of the drawings. While those around Jack Peter are haunted by what they think they see, only he knows the truth behind the frightful occurrences as the outside world encroaches upon them all.In the tradition of
  • The Turn of the Screw
  • , Keith Donohue’s
  • The Boy Who Drew Monsters
  • is a mesmerizing tale of psychological terror and imagination run wild, a perfectly creepy read for a dark night.
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