From the author of Doll Parts comes a riveting suspense injected with the gothic presence of Edgar Allen Poe and Shirley Jackson, perfect for fans of Long Bright River, Bright Young Women, and The Last House on Needless Street.
Let me tell you a story about sisters.
Baltimore, 1985. Mad is still processing the night her father disappeared. Before, she and her sister Annabel lived alone above Goldie's, the family bar, where they spent their nights listening to Blondie, reading Edgar Allen Poe, and dreaming of unsure futures. Now that it's clear he's never returning, Annabel has become reclusive, neighbors have started spreading damaging rumors about the family, and Mad is struggling to keep Goldie's afloat. When a photo makes it look like there's a ghost in the upstairs window of the bar, the sisters decide to make up a haunting tale based on none other than Poe to put them back on the map. Because who can resist a good bar story, especially a haunted one?
But as news of their fabricated story spreads, Annabel suddenly goes missing. And she isn't the only person to disappear. A killer is prowling the streets, one who leaves a calling card every time a body is found: dead roses and bottle of sherry, the same gift the infamous Baltimore Poe Toaster leaves every year at the poet's grave.
Did their fake ghost story draw the attention of a murderer, and could their missing father somehow be involved? As Mad races the clock to find her sister, she'll have to confront the haunting corners of the world she thought she knew, before it all goes up in flames.
Saratoga Schaefer, USA Today Bestselling Author of Trad Wife and The Last Time We Drowned
Beautifully written and packed with Poe lore, Accidents Never Happen is a powerful portrayal of family loyalty and historical intrigue. Behind the propulsive serial murders and haunted dive bars is a story about the tales we tell each other and the complexity of sisterhood. A must-read for all Poe lovers!
Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Forget Me Not
Penny Zang has crafted an incredible gothic ghost story in Accidents Never Happen. I came for the 80s dive bar vibes, and I stayed for the twisty mystery involving an Edgar Allan Poe-inspired serial killer terrorizing his way through the Baltimore bar scene
Liann Zhang, author of Julie Chan is Dead
Sprinkled with easter eggs that will undoubtedly delight all Edgar Allen Poe fans, Accidents Never Happen is a chilling and atmospheric examination of sisterhood and family loyalty. With writing that feels like slinking through a foggy and haunted gothic Baltimore, every dead body uncovered perfectly dials up the tension, leaving readers breathless for more.