Coming quickly from Titan Books is Secret Lives of the Useless by Tim Lebbon, creator of The Silence. His newest novel is a darkish folks horror story of a lethal household curse, crime, and homicide. Dread Central is happy to completely reveal the duvet for the upcoming novel, in addition to an excerpt to provide you a style of Lebbon’s new piece of horror.
Learn the complete synopsis for Secret Lives of the Useless beneath:
When Jodi, BB, and Matt determine to burgle a derelict nation dwelling as an exhilarating dare, they turn out to be embroiled in a twisted legacy of supernatural terror. There are rumors of a weird curse hanging over the hoard of antiques and jewelery inside the home. And unbeknownst to the others, one member of the trio has darker motives for breaking into the property.
Lem is a brutal man obsessive about a ugly household legend. He’s decided to proper the wrongs of the previous and elevate the curse positioned on his bloodline. By finishing the work of his father and bringing a weird number of scattered relics again collectively, he hopes to be freed from the malign affect that has hounded each technology of his household for 2 centuries.
Throughout a single day a lethal pursuit will culminate on the desolate, storm-swept Crow Island, and people concerned are given trigger to surprise… can believing in a curse deeply sufficient deliver its personal dangerous luck?
Now try the novel’s cowl:
Tim Lebbon is the New York Instances bestselling creator of Eden, Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has additionally written many profitable film novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Lebbon has received a World Fantasy Award, 4 British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the Worldwide Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a Netflix film starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.
Titan Books will launch Secret Lives of the Useless on August 26, 2025.
Learn an unique excerpt from the upcoming novel, the place we get a glimpse on the treasures found within the creepy home on the hill:
BB by no means believed that they’d discover something of price in that outdated home on prime of the hill. It had been empty for thus lengthy that absolutely something worthwhile would have been stripped away, taken by the homeowners or stolen by prospectors like themselves lengthy prior to now? Jodi’s certainty that there was one thing there had saved him intrigued, however for him this was only a lark. An journey. This was him and Matt finishing the childhood plans they’d made to raid and discover the place, and even when they discovered nothing, that was treasure sufficient for him.
Staring down on the field Matt had simply pressured open, BB started to want they actually had come right here years in the past.
“Is that costume jewelry?” he requested.
“Mate.” Matt picked up a hoop and held it up earlier than BB’s torch. The gold was pale and tarnished, however the rock glimmered, swallowing mild and seemingly reflecting it even brighter. “This stone’s as large as a blueberry.”
“However it’s faux, proper?” BB requested this of Jodi, not Matt. She was watching them, eyes vast, greedy the outdated stick he’d discovered as if that was the true treasured.
“Dunno.”
BB took the ring from Matt and held it up, shining his torch onto it, into it. It was dazzling. When Jodi held out her hand he dropped it into her palm.
“Shouldn’t you be on one knee?” Matt requested, and the 2 males laughed. It was vaguely uncomfortable, however BB shrugged it off. They’d by no means mentioned something so ultimate and binding. He glanced sidelong at Jodi however she was trying on the stick factor in her different hand once more. The possible-diamond ring lay forgotten in her palm.
“If that is all actual…” Matt mentioned, laying the wood container on prime of a pile of packing containers. He pulled out a series weighted with a locket, some earrings, a number of bracelets, a handful of brooches, putting all of them on the field’s open lid.
“Suppose there’s extra?” BB requested. “The place’d you discover it?”
Matt nodded to his proper the place a heavy cardboard field lay open towards the wall. Previous books have been stacked round it. “Buried in there, underneath a load of books.”
“Buried. Proper. Hidden – so there could be extra. Jodi?”
“Most likely extra,” she mentioned, and he may see that she made an effort to tear her gaze away from the wood factor. Her smile was false, pressured.
“What’s that factor?” he requested, and as he reached for the item she took a small step again, held it down towards her thigh. It was an involuntary motion, and her smile grew wider, extra unsure.
“Similar to one thing my dad used to gather,” she mentioned. “Shocked me to see one right here, that’s all. Nugatory however, you recognize, recollections.”
Reminiscences. She’d talked about her father just a few occasions, besides BB knew hardly something about him. He’d been killed in a automotive crash when she was a young person, and he guessed that was why she was by no means very eager to debate him, and he’d by no means been pushy. In her personal time, he’d thought, however as time glided by and little extra was mentioned he’d let it go. In her personal time may imply by no means, and that was tremendous. Now, this was an odd place to start out speaking about her useless dad.
“So what’s it doing right here?” BB requested.
“Plenty of these outdated locations had bizarre carvings like this.” It was a lie, BB was positive. However that didn’t matter. There was gold and diamonds right here, most likely different stuff buried deeper. He’d have time later to ask Jodi why she was being bizarre.
“Properly let’s hold it along with every thing else and we’ll carry all of it out.” He didn’t attain for the carving, however he nodded down on the jewellery-strewn field.
Jodi tucked the carved wood size into the deep thigh pocket of her working leggings and moved to a different pile of packing containers. Its finish protruded from the pocket, clinging near her leg. Dialogue closed, BB thought, however when he appeared on the valuables they’d discovered he let it slip from his thoughts. Jodi was non-public and secretive and typically fairly bizarre about her previous, and that had by no means bothered him. He cherished her for what she was now, not what she’d been, seen and finished earlier than they knew one another.
He may ask her later.
“Let’s get digging,” he mentioned to Matt, and his mate’s vast open expression made him snort.
“What?” Matt requested.
“Your face!”
“I simply by no means anticipated… You understand.”
“So it’s an journey and a payoff,” BB mentioned. “Bonus, proper?”
“If we will discover anybody to purchase all this, yeah,” Matt mentioned.
“Let’s fear about that later,” BB mentioned. He kneeled down by the place Matt had discovered the wood jewelry field, put the torch in his mouth and began rooting round some extra. He introduced out extra books and piled them on the ground, glancing on the titles and covers as he did so. They have been in fairly good situation, and he questioned at who’d put them down right here, out of sight and thoughts for thus lengthy. His mom had introduced him as much as love books, and he all the time had a pair on the go. He preferred libraries in a home as a result of, as his mom had mentioned, it made a spot really feel heat and gave it character. He questioned about who had learn these books, what they’d been like, and the way the books had ended up boxed away in the dead of night for thus lengthy. There was nothing trendy right here. Possibly they have been a forgotten reminiscence of the homicide or suicide victims.
Then who owned the jewelry? He paused at that thought, listening to Jodi and Matt rooting round elsewhere within the cellar. An odd feeling came visiting him, a coolness, a chill. He’d held the ring, and perhaps the final finger it had been on was a useless one. He snorted softly, however couldn’t shake the thought. This place feels bizarre, he thought, however he wasn’t positive whether or not it had felt bizarre earlier than his ideas of jewelry on murderous or murdered fingers, or after.
“We must always go quickly,” Jodi mentioned.
“We’ve solely been down right here half an hour!” Matt mentioned.
“And we’ve discovered loads. And we will all the time come again. However time’s ticking, it’s virtually eight and the roads can be getting busier. We don’t need your van being seen leaving right here.”
“Proper,” Matt mentioned. “Yeah. That may be uncool.”
“Persist with the plan, man!” BB mentioned, and he felt a rush of reduction that they have been leaving. The darkness and mustiness have been attending to him. That, and perhaps the concept they have been stealing a useless particular person’s jewelry.
Matt gathered the property again into the wood field and closed the lid, and as he snapped the catch shut one thing rang out.
“What’s that?” BB appeared round, flicking his torch as much as the basement ceiling, questioning if certainly one of them had set an outdated chime transferring.
Matt introduced out his telephone and opened the display. In its sudden glow BB noticed his face drop.
“What?” Jodi requested.
“I set a motion alarm within the van linked to the dashcam,” he mentioned. “There’s a truck.” He held his telephone out to point out them each the view of Morgan Manor’s gravel driveway in entrance of the home.
The truck was simply rolling to a cease ten metres in entrance of Matt’s van. It sat there unmoving, doorways closed, tinted home windows revealing nothing. It was an enormous Ford, two rows of seats within the cab, vast open mattress within the again, a roll bar. It was the form of automobile usually purchased by wealthy individuals with no actual want of a truck aside from to drive their children to high school, however BB may see that this one was practical. Its physique was bumped in a number of locations, grime splashed up the edges, and a brief stepladder was tied towards the cab roof.
“So who the hell is that?” Matt requested.
“Somebody come to scrub the home windows?” BB mentioned.
Jodi mentioned nothing, however she stared intently on the display.
“Why aren’t they getting out?” Matt requested. “What are they doing?”
“Jodi?” BB requested, as a result of he may sense her rigidity, hear it in her shallow respiration. She appeared to not hear. “Jodi!” He nudged her.
“Unhealthy luck,” she mentioned. “That’s all. We’ll simply must—”
“Door’s opening,” Matt mentioned. It was tough to make out element on the small display, however BB noticed the driving force’s door swing open and a tall man step out. He was wearing darkish clothes and wore a beanie over an unruly mass of untamed gray hair. His face was closely bearded.
He aimed a telephone at Matt’s van.
“Oh, that’s simply fucking—”
“We have to go,” Jodi mentioned.
“However he’s clocked my van! Possibly we should always go up there and—”
“We have to get away from right here,” Jodi mentioned. “Matt, get that field. BB, maintain this.” She handed him her backpack and began tugging on the zip to open it.
“What’s taking place, Jodi?” BB requested, as a result of the reality hit dwelling . They have been right here due to her, she’d discovered one thing that wasn’t treasure to anybody else however her, she’d been on edge the entire time, and now she was scared.
No, greater than that. She was terrified.
She pulled one thing from her pack, and BB virtually laughed with the ridiculousness of what was taking place.
“I’m sorry,” she mentioned, flustered and jittery. “I’m sorry, each of you – I fucked up and acquired all of it unsuitable, however we’ve to go now!”
“You’re holding a gun,” Matt mentioned.
“Now!”
“Why?” BB requested. “Who is that?”
“His identify’s Lem Baxter. He’s the bastard who murdered my father.”
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