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Dead First - Hardcover
$27.49
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Dead First
$27.49
Returns: if a book arrives damaged or isn't the one you ordered, email us within 7 days of delivery and we'll replace it or refund you, usually with nothing to send back. Refund policy
Is this book for you?
- Feels
- Tense, Eerie, Atmospheric
- Kind of story
- Supernatural horror, Mystery
- About
- Power, Memory, Identity
- Pace
- Steady
- How dark
- 3 of 5. Dark, with real menace
- Romance
- None to speak of
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Featured in our reading guide: New Horror Books of 2026: 10 to Read This October
From the Bram Stoker award-nominated author of The Spite House comes a bone-chilling new novel about a private investigator hired by a mysterious billionaire to discover why he can't die.
When private investigator Shyla Sinclair is invited to the looming mansion of eccentric billionaire Saxton Braith, she's more than a little suspicious. The last thing she expects to see that night is Braith's assistant driving an iron rod straight through the back of his skull. Scratch that - the last thing she expects to see is Braith's resurrection afterward.
Braith can't die, it turns out, but he has no explanation for his immortality, and very few intact memories of his past. Which is why he wants to pay Shyla millions to investigate him, and bring his long-buried history to light.
Shyla can't help but be intrigued, but she's also trapped by the offer. Braith has made it clear that he knows she's the only person he can trust with his secret, because he knows all about hers.
Bold, atmospheric, and utterly frightening, Johnny Compton's Dead First is spine-chilling supernatural horror about the pursuit of power and the undying need for reckoning.
Author Biography
Johnny Compton is the author of The Spite House, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker award, and Devils Kill Devils. His short stories have appeared in Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, The No Sleep Podcast and several other publications. His fascination with frightening fiction started when he was introduced to the ghost story "The Golden Arm" as a child.
Details
- Author: Johnny Compton
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 368
- Published: February 10, 2026
- Size: 6.4 x 9.1 x 1.4 in
- ISBN: 9780593854310
Praise
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In Dead First, Johnny Compton deftly mixes horror, Texas history, and the detective story. His Shyla Sinclair is my favorite horror detective since Clive Barker's Harry D'Amour. A gory, rollicking ride.
Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie
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I've been psyched to witness hometown horror hero Johnny Compton's rise, especially as Compton is dedicated to crafting stories that incorporate ongoing central Texan concerns (and colorful characters)...
Crime Reads
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Dead First is a compelling mashup of hardboiled noir and horror, with unexpected plot twists and brisk pacing enhanced by excellent characterizations.
Criminal Element
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[A] first-rate mash-up of styles that provides thrills and chills right through to the unexpected conclusion.
Bookreporter
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