“Habib’s debut novel is a tale of obsession and repression that is both incredibly tender and disturbingly violent.”

On vacation at the beach with his son, single father Todd sees someone along the shore. Todd realizes this man is Jack, who relentlessly bullied Todd when they were teenagers, but who is now excited to have run into his old friend Todd after all these years.

After a meal to catch up, Jack quickly invades Todd’s life, and all the pain Todd felt in the past comes rushing to the surface. Isolated by the woods on one side, and the ocean on the other, Todd’s life spirals out of control as repressed desire turns deadly violent.

Why we’re excited about this book:

Conner Habib may be a newcomer to horror fiction, but his writing had definitely made waves in the non-fiction world. The host of Against Everyone with Conner Habib, Habib’s essays and lectures have been featured in such publications as The Irish Times Magazine, Merry Jane, The Rumpus, Slate, Vice, and many more venues online and in print. Habib’s debut novel is a tale of obsession and repression that is both incredibly tender and disturbingly violent. Clive Barker calls Hawk Mountain “… a bleak, dark adrenaline rush.” Brian Evenson (The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell) says Hawk Mountain is: “A moving and unflinching portrayal of a man caught in a trap of his own making, but willing to do almost anything―to almost anybody―if it will keep him from having to face up to himself. Hawk Mountain is a wonderfully bleak and beautifully written debut.”, and Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World) says: “A deeply disturbing yet, somehow, soaring novel I won’t soon forget. It plumbs the depths of traumatized characters trapped within our damaging culture. I couldn’t look away, even when I was looking from between my fingers.”

Releasing from W. W. Norton & Company 5 July 2022, Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib is available for pre-order now.

BOB PASTORELLA