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This Thing Between Us

A Novel

by Gus Moreno

Narrator Robb Moreira

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Length 5 hours 56 minutes

Language English

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“By the time Thiago Alvarez's wife dies (the novel opens with her funeral) evil forces are already at work, but he and Vera were only vaguely aware of it. Mostly they laughed about their clearly defective Alexa-like machine and its quirks: the gallons of lye and giant swords that would show up on their doorstep. The online retailer made returns super easy, after all, and it made for great dinner party anecdotes. So it's only after his wife's freak accident that Thiago feels the need to run over the machine with his car, to abandon his life, to flee halfway across the country. But Thiago learns pretty quickly that it's not going to be that easy. Moreno writes a dark, disturbing, literary horror novel that is as much about grief as it is ghosts. This is one of the best horror novels I have ever read, filled with plain great writing and the sort of twists that will make you go, 'Oh, SH*T!'”
— Rachel • The Book Table

Summary
About the author

"A surreal excursion into heartache and horror narrated by a man undone by grief . . . Along with allusions to Rod Serling and The Exorcist, there are shades of H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, zombie literature and, at least once, A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . You don't want to read this book right before bed." —Sarah Lyall, The New York Times Book Review

“This intense cosmic horror with a touch of Mexican American folklore is incredibly creepy and moving.” —Margaret Kingsbury, BuzzFeed

A widower battles his grief, rage, and the mysterious evil inhabiting his home smart speaker, in this mesmerizing horror thriller from Gus Moreno.

It was Vera’s idea to buy the Itza. The “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” didn’t interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo. It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house—who ordered industrial lye? Then there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room.

It was funny and strange right up until Vera was killed, and Thiago’s world became unbearable. Pundits and politicians all looking to turn his wife’s death into a symbol for their own agendas. A barrage of texts from her well-meaning friends about letting go and moving on. Waking to the sound of Itza talking softly to someone in the living room . . .

The only thing left to do was get far away from Chicago. Away from everything and everyone. A secluded cabin in Colorado seemed like the perfect place to hole up with his crushing grief. But soon Thiago realizes there is no escape—not from his guilt, not from his simmering rage, and not from the evil hunting him, feeding on his grief, determined to make its way into this world.

A bold, original horror novel about grief, loneliness and the oppressive intimacy of technology, This Thing Between Us marks the arrival of a spectacular new talent.

A Macmillan Audio production from MCD x FSG Originals.

Fiction Mystery & Thriller Horror

Gus Moreno is the author of This Thing Between Us. His stories have appeared in Aurealis, Pseudopod, Bluestem Magazine, and the Burnt Tongues anthology. He lives in the suburbs with his wife and dogs, but never think that he's not from Chicago for one second.