The Chain House

A dangerous cult leader, days away from execution, reveals he is the famous author behind a bestselling series. With his death, the final, unpublished manuscript--and the crucial evidence it contains--will never see the light of day.

In the tradition of Stephen King, this multi-POV, page-turning horror thriller from author J. H. Markert is packed with mind-bending twists.

Days before his execution, notorious mass murderer Sal Batise, known as the Breaker of Chains by his cult followers, grants an unlikely interview to a young filmmaker, Sam Harper.

This interview could launch Sam's career. But his carefully planned questions--including the one about the recently kidnapped governor's wife--fall apart when Batise seizes control.

On live TV, Batise claims that he is Mallard Malone, the anonymous author of a blockbuster thriller series. Stay his execution, and he'll release the final unpublished manuscript that holds the key to finding his victims' bodies.

Meanwhile, a ransom note arrives with a single demand to save the governor's wife: Batise's execution must go on as planned.

Desperate for more information, Sam teams up with Jennifer Daley, a childhood survivor of Batise's cult, to locate the missing manuscript and uncover the truth behind their own ties to Batise.

As fiction and reality collide, a deadly chain of events leads to a race against time to stop an execution that could have catastrophic consequences on the world.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 10/06/2026
ISBN: 9798892426763
Pages: 336

Review Citations: Library Journal 07/17/2026 pg. 1