While you may know author Tim Lebbon’s name from his contributions to the Alien and Predator literature extensions, he has some really solid work that deserves more attention.
I’d highly recommend his eco-horror Eden plus the fantastic The Last Storm, twinned with his latest novel Secret Lives of the Dead.
Unabashedly, this was one of my favourite reads of the year to date.
Lebbon shifts gear quickly here, and throws us straight into a dark folk horror story that really packs a punch.
He is not afraid to craft some memorable and violent imagery with his words, and this gives Secret Lives of the Dead balls and a sense of danger which will certainly be a page-turner.
We follow a trio of young people who break into a derelict home but soon find out that a rumoured curse surrounding it may be more real than they thought.
The flipside of this we have Lem, a vicious man who is determined to lift the curse and right the wrongs of his family’s past. Both of their worlds will collide and there will be blood.
The dual storylines really shakes Secret Lives of the Dead up, as we have antagonist and protagonist POV, plus Lebbon gives his main characters depth, even if they do things you may be shocked by.
I’m not the fastest reader, but I burnt through this in under a week. Not to sound cheesy, but I couldn’t put it down.
One of the best horror novels of 2025 to date.
Secret Lives of the Dead by Tim Lebbon is available now in various formats from Titan Books.
Bloody Flicks 