Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai), which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. At age 20, Suri broke free from their single room and came to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room kept wrenching him back to Bombay. By now, real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.

Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai), which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. At age 20, Suri broke free from their single room and came to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room kept wrenching him back to Bombay. By now, real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.

A bestselling novelist turns to memoir in this compelling story of a son’s love, a mother’s obsession, and the malevolent grip of the past.

Indian American author Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai) which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. Their single room, at times a refuge from the religious and territorial tensions pervading the apartment, was also a prison that held them captive --- his parents stuck in an unhappy marriage, the author unable to explore the dawning realization he might be gay. At age 20, Suri managed to break free and come to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room, which still held his parents hostage, kept wrenching him back to Bombay.

By now, real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room, causing Suri’s parents to dig in even more. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.

This remarkable, gripping memoir explores how an abode can shape destiny, while delving into the difficult question of how much to prioritize our parents’ happiness over our own. Inspired by over 2,700 letters the author wrote home over three decades, it is ultimately a testament to the abiding, unbreakable bond tying a son to his mother.

Audiobook available, read by Neil Shah

Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant, Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher, who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. So begins SHORT CIRCUIT, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled after one of M.C. Escher’s impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit. 

Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant, Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher, who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. So begins SHORT CIRCUIT, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled after one of M.C. Escher’s impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit. 

A clever, electrifying puzzle of a novel, inspired by M.C. Escher’s optical illusions, in which two mirrored plots --- a man waiting for an electrician and a mafia informant entering witness protection --- delightfully converge.

Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant, Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher, who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection.

So begins SHORT CIRCUIT, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled after one of M.C. Escher’s impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit. A phenomenon after its German publication, this brilliantly entertaining novel promises to defy all expectation.

Audiobook available, read by Peter Noble

In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood --- a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress.

In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood --- a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress.

A spine-chilling, heart-pounding suburban horror novel at the heart of the genre, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Cassandra Khaw and Catriona Ward.

In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood --- a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences.

Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home.

After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows.

Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real --- and more dangerous --- haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.

Audiobook available, read by Megan Tusing