With terror mounting in 1940 London, thousands of "Guest Children" were evacuated out of England to escape the bombings. Two of those children, Michael and Frances Hawksby, were never seen again. Randall Sturgess, who avoided the draft to look after his younger brother, is hired to find them - a journey that takes him to an isolated resort in a remote corner of northern Ontario. There, he discovers the secretive couple who initially took in the young Hawksbys, along with their collection of strange, seemingly permanent guests. But there’s still no sign of the children. Plagued by vivid nightmares and a persistent feeling he’s being watched, Randall’s certain something terrible has happened to them, linked to a spectral presence he senses around the lodge and in the dense forest surrounding them. Vividly atmospheric, layered and twisty, The Guest Children is sure to appeal to fans of Shutter Island and The Others.
Release Date: August 12th, 2025
Advance praise for The Guest Children
“Combining the childhood otherworlds of C.S. Lewis, the dark horror of Stephen King, and the psychological gothic of Shirley Jackson, The Guest Children is a novel at once unsettling and deeply moving. Patrick Tarr's debut presents as a haunted house story (of a sort) -- and it is -- but takes the reader to unexpected corners of the heart where both buried grief and our most constant attachments reside. Uncommonly well-written, gripping, deliciously entertaining, this is a book that will not only carry you away, but return you to a forgotten place within yourself.”
— Andrew Pyper, author of Oracle and The Demonologist
“The Guest Children is a wrenching supernatural novel that comes disguised as a subtle ghost story, a terrific debut where a cast of unforgettable characters wage private wars of grief, lost childhoods, and truths too painful to confront. It's also a tightly-paced mystery: a remarkable book.”
— Naben Ruthnum, author of Helpmeet
“Reminiscent of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, The Guest Children masterfully blends history and the supernatural, taking readers deep into the minds and hearts of children scarred by war. Haunting, immersive, and unforgettable—I loved it!”
— Daniel Kalla, bestselling author of The Deepest Fake