The Smashed Man of Dread End

Written by J.W. Ocker

Narrated by Gail Shalan

From USA Today bestselling author J.W. Ocker comes a chilling middle grade horror perfect for fans of R.L. Stine and Holly Black alike.

Noe Wiley couldn’t be more excited to move. After the slumber party sleepwalking incident of last year, she’s ready to make some new friends.

But Noe didn’t expect the sullen, strange girls who live on her new street. And she certainly didn’t expect the strange warning they give her—to stay out of her basement, no matter what.

Noe’s not going to let these girls boss her around. She’ll go in her own basement whenever she wants.

So she does. And there he is.

And now there’s no going back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063085435

J.W. Ocker

J.W. Ocker is the USA Today bestselling and Lowell Thomas– and Edgar Award–winning author of macabre travelogues, spooky kids’ books, and horror novels. His books include Poe-Land, A Season with the Witch, Death and Douglas, and The Smashed Man of Dread End. J.W. Ocker lives in New Hampshire.

Reviews for The Smashed Man of Dread End

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When thirteen year-old Noe's family finds an amazing deal on a house on a cul-de-sac, they grabbed it and move in weeks later. Noe and her little sister are fine with the move until Noe notices a group of girls standing in the street watching the new family move in. One girl gives Noe an ominous warning to stay out of the basement at night, but Noe isn't one to take warnings, and she discovers a monster that slips out of the basement cracks at night. Turns out that he isn't just in her basement, the Smashed Man can climb out of the cracks of any of the homes on the dead end that have kids.Good scares, and the least helpful mentor possible in the form of grumpy Fern, an older woman who is tasked with observing the Smashed Man but not interested in protecting the kids he's after.