Three siblings. One missing brother. A ghost who says: Come home.
A Box Full of Darkness
by Simone St. James
January 20, 2026
by Simone St. James
January 20, 2026
Genre: Supernatural Suspense/Horror
Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.
Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.
As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.
And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.
A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is “particularly gifted at doling out twists” (The New York Times).
Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.
Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.
As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.
And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.
A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is “particularly gifted at doling out twists” (The New York Times).
PRAISE FOR SIMONE ST. JAMES’ NOVELS
“From the book’s chillingly creepy setting, which previously appeared in The Sun Down Motel (2020), to a nerve-jangling plot that effectively borrows from a mix of genres to the writing itself, which shimmers with a dazzlingly sharp sense of wit, everything about St. James’ latest is done to perfection.”-Booklist (starred review)
“Fast, chilling, entertaining, unexpectedly touching, and with two broken, memorable characters at its core, this might be St. James’s best novel yet.”—The New York Times Book Review
“From its nerve-shredding start to its thrilling end...it's a trip well worth taking.”—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author
“As creepy and unsettling as a rain-faded wreath and teddy bear found by the side of the road to mark a missing person, Murder Road lingers like a ghost long after it’s finished.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author
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Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls. Her debut novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada.
Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat.
Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat.
