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If the group can endure these horrors without shouting the safe word, “reprieve,” they’ll win a substantial cash prize—a startling feat accomplished only by one other group in the house’s long history. But before they can complete the challenge, a man breaks into the cell and kills one of the contestants. Those who were present on that fateful night lend their points of view: Kendra Brown, a teenager who’s been uprooted from her childhood home after the sudden loss of her father; Leonard Grandton, a desperate and impressionable hotel manager caught in a series of toxic entanglements; and Jaidee Charoensuk, a gay international student who came to the United States in a besotted search for his former English teacher. As each character’s journey unfurls and overlaps, deceits and misunderstandings fueled by obsession and prejudice are revealed—forcing all to reckon with the ways in which their beliefs and actions contributed to a horrifying catastrophe. A startlingly soulful exploration of complicity and masquerade, Reprieve combines the psychological tension of classic horror with searing social criticism, and seamlessly threads together trial transcripts, evidence descriptions, and deeply layered individual narratives to present a chilling portrait of this tangled American life. You can read an excerpt of REPRIEVE here and here. PRAISE FOR REPRIEVE… “Mattson crafts a nail-biting horror saga while also implicating us in our sick obsession with horror. So too does the novel evoke blistering social horror, forcing us to reckon with how racism, prejudice, and complicity are more horrifying—and more fatal—than anything that goes bump in the night. Unrelenting and unforgettable, Reprieve is an American classic in the making.” —Esquire “Insightful and gripping… On the surface, Reprieve is a story about an attack at a haunted house, but Mattson is also investigating questions of identity and power, namely who in this story controls fears and who is subject to them… The haunted house at the center of the narrative is an excellent touch because the ideas of danger and harm become material, frightening and imminent. At times, the reader is trapped in Quigley House with the contestants, in scenes that are genuinely unnerving.… In his sly way, Mattson turns his novel into a portrait of current events. And they have, indeed, been terrifying.”—New York Times “A novel about otherness, loneliness, racism, and identity… Mattson walks the line between pulpy horror and smart literary fiction here… Everyone in this book is deep, nuanced, and multilayered… Still, readers should enter at their own risk. The experience might be harrowing – but just like Quigley House, the reward at the end is worth it.” —NPR "Sharp as a razor’s edge…Mattson’s devious trick is in revealing America itself as a topsy-turvy house of horrors.” —O Quarterly “A fascinating debut thriller with ambitions that go beyond the genre’s conventions.” —The Boston Globe “It’s the compelling flashbacks from diverse contestants and others that drive Mattson’s deeper examination of America’s addiction to horror, casual racism, deteriorating political climate and a whole lot more. Sure to spark conversation and debate at book clubs across the land.” —The Los Angeles Times "It's character driven, creepy, gory and all things scary . . . it will have you turning pages." —TODAY "James Han Mattson…knows a thing about subverting genre. Nothing haunted here, just a killing in a Midwestern haunted attraction that spirals into a trial, the politics of horror itself and the long reach of complicity.” —The Chicago Tribune “An unsettling story of deceit and complicity.” —Harper’s Bazaar “A chilling blend of horror and thriller that explores racism and the desperate desire to belong with skin-crawling exactitude…Clever, insightful and unnerving.” —The Sunday Observer “This eerie novel about a death inside a full-contact escape room stretches the genre to eye-opening degrees. As Mattson fills out the backstories of the witnesses, he probes racial fetishism and far-right radicalization—among other topics far more terrifying than the frights inside the central haunted house.” —Entertainment Weekly “This clever and pointed new thriller by James Han Mattson is particularly self-aware…But Reprieve’s more earthly specters (sex tourism, misogyny, ruthless capitalism, etc.) prove the most insidious.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer “Reprieve is brilliantly conceived and unsettling.” —The Sunday Times “It’s a skillful and gripping piece of storytelling that jumps from Thailand to the US, and shifts between courtroom drama and wistful domestic scenes...There’s a genuine sense of terror, and lots of brilliantly described unpleasantness. Things go squelch, bodies are consumed with pain, and the knowledge that all this is going to end very badly in no way impedes your desire to see them progress...Mattson drills down to the grotesque core of fetishisation - dehumanising somebody and calling it love. And what could be better suited to the horror genre than that?" —The Guardian “The slow burn of suspense is filled with an examination of racism, LGBT politics, the American dream and obsession with horror from multiple points of view. A fascinating exploration of privilege and power within a tight framework of plot points heading towards an uneasy denouement.” —The Daily Mail “The writing is top notch and the scenes inside the attraction are as exciting as anything you’ll likely experience this Halloween.” —The Toronto Star “The Quigley House combines the best and the worst in escape rooms and haunted houses, luring those who love to be scared, but also those who are greedy in “Reprieve,” James Han Mattson’s second novel that smoothly combines tenets of the mystery and horror genres with issues of race and sexuality.” —South Florida Sun Sentinel “A brilliant hybrid, a thought-provoking look at marginalization and systemic oppression expertly nestled inside a high-anxiety tale about the horror industry itself.” —Booklist (starred review) “Smart and harrowing…tense, well-paced… a canny use of horror as metaphor for themes of guilt, race, and sexuality.” —Publishers Weekly “Wild and risky and audacious in the very best way possible. Reprieve is the perfect October read and one that might have you thinking about coming up with your own safe word for the journey.” —Shondaland “Told via court documents and multiple character perspectives that highlight underlying racism and misogyny, this intriguing and complex new horror is a perfect Halloween read.” —Buzzfeed “If you're looking for something fascinating, macabre and page-turning that you read whilst partially hiding your eyes with your hand, this is the one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” —New Zealand Herald “As the book’s horrifying events unfold, Reprieve can be read as a commentary on, or even an allegory of, American racism. Are we fighting to succeed in a fun house whose rewards aren’t worth the pain? As a study of systems of power at their most perverse, Reprieve is a horror story, certainly, but it’s not as scary as it is deeply disturbing.” —Bookpage “After the grisly homicide, James Han Mattson's novel retraces the incident from each perspective of the group that went through the haunted house, piecing together a horror story that touches on many of the nasty sociopolitical and racial thoughts that infect this country.” —Thrillist “Destined to be one of the most talked about books of the year, Reprieve by James Han Mattson is a searing novel of suspense, horror, and class politics.” —Popsugar “Perfect for fans of Get Out, Parasite, and Lullaby, this is an arresting and original book that exposes the true horrors within our daily lives and society in general.” —The Bookseller (UK) “Mattson expertly blends classic horror and blistering social commentary in this gripping, unforgettable page turner.” —Elle Canada “It’s a nuanced and complicated book about racism, classism, and sexism, that just happens to take place at the world’s most violent haunted house.” —Book Riot “Reprieve is an eventual American classic that is unrelenting in its beauty and incisive cultural critique. But it is James Han Mattson’s treatment of his fully flawed characters that clutches my heart and head. Every room in this book has a secret room. Every character has a shadow trying to swallow them whole. I’m not sure there is ‘fearless’ American writing, but a few times a generation, there is innovative writing that appears to confront, shred, and accept the fears of its author and its readers with a wicked joy. Reprieve is that book. It really is.” — Kiese Laymon, bestselling author of Heavy: An American Memoir “Reprieve takes horror as its subject, while also using the genre as its means, delivering twists and fright and the kind of storytelling that keeps you turning pages. But the brilliance of James Han Mattson’s novel is in deploying the haunted house as a metaphor for our nation, where the true scare is a cultural reckoning with whiteness itself.” —Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind “I’m in awe of the remarkable power of James Han Mattson’s REPRIEVE in doing the impossible—it devastated me, yet left me hopeful. It’s the perfect novel for our time, combining a nail-biting murder mystery with brilliant social commentary on fetishization, misogyny, racism, and heteronormativity. I’m blown away.” —Angie Kim, bestselling author of Miracle Creek “Surprising and spellbinding, Mattson’s latest offering is a page-turner that keeps you guessing right until the explosive end. Smart and entertaining, Reprieve is the rare novel that’s both thrilling and thought-provoking. A must-read!” — T. Geronimo Johnson, bestselling author of Welcome to Braggsville “A timely, devastating story about intersecting lives drawn to a dark and frightening place. Rich with insights about our contemporary moment and characters blinded by their desire for belonging and connection, James Han Mattson’s Reprieve is the rare novel that will make your heart pound with terror while it aches with grief.” —Jung Yun, author of Shelter “Reprieve is a tense, riveting novel about an American house of horrors where fear and desperate desire collide, exploding into violence. James Han Mattson writes with grace and conviction, delivering intimate portraits of flawed, fascinating people, down to the carnival distortions that occupy their minds.” —Steph Cha, award-winning author of Your House Will Pay "Reprieve is a masterful novel of horror and suspense that is all the more harrowing due to the affection and sympathy developed for its characters—each a victim in wildly divergent ways. It's so entertaining and thoughtful that I hated having to put the book down." —Ron Hansen, bestselling author of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford “Reprieve is a self-aware and furious deconstruction of the horror novel, contrasting those who seek out fear with those who face the ever-present dangers of prejudice.” —Crimereads "As each character’s story unfolds and overlaps, revealing obsessions, prejudice, and secrets, Reprieve transforms from a classic horror story to a portrait—and social critique—of contemporary American life." -- Literary Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2021 https://www.jameshanmattson.com/books daily 0.75 2021-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f45f236385b311d958a5df/1626629403803-06BD0LKYW7DHJOJG8OHZ/Reprieve_HC.jpg Books https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f45f236385b311d958a5df/1626629429949-R7SULWN6NS28AIL8BJPS/Ricky+Graves+Cover.jpg Books https://www.jameshanmattson.com/about daily 0.75 2022-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f45f236385b311d958a5df/1628468054840-G7Z6MR3GTCG2Y9KZUHG2/James002-2.jpg About https://www.jameshanmattson.com/reviews daily 0.75 2021-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Reviews https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Reviews https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694644871-IC85FNH781UNZSZEGHDR/Aro+Ha_0428.jpg Reviews https://www.jameshanmattson.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-08-09 https://www.jameshanmattson.com/the-lost-prayers-of-ricky-graves daily 0.75 2021-08-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f45f236385b311d958a5df/1626722272554-C9URZQN34LRBNAWZNSH5/Ricky+Graves+Cover.jpg The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves - Ricky Graves is a young man coming to terms with his sexual orientation in a small New Hampshire town. He’s tormented by a jerk named Wesley, until Ricky kills him — and then himself. –NPR In raw, poignant alternating first-person narratives, interspersed with e-mails, gay chat-room exchanges, and other fragments of a youth laid bare in the age of social media, The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves unravels the mystery of a life in all its glory: despair and regret, humor and wonder, courage and connection. A heartbroken and humiliated Ricky Graves took the life of a classmate and himself. Five months later, the sleepy community is still in shock and mourning. Ricky’s sister, Alyssa, returns to confront her shattered, withdrawn mother and her guilt over the brother she left adrift. Mark McVitry, the lone survivor of the deadly outburst sparked by his own cruelty, is tormented by visions of Ricky’s vengeful spirit. Ricky’s surrogate older brother, Corky Meeks, grapples with doubts about the fragile boy he tried to protect but may have doomed instead. And Jeremy Little, who inadvertently became Ricky’s long-distance Internet crush despite never having met, seeks to atone for failing to hear his friend’s cries for help. For those closest to the tormented killer, shock and grief have given way to soul searching, as they’re forced to confront their broken dreams, buried desires, and missed opportunities. And in their shared search for meaning and redemption, Ricky’s loved ones find a common purpose: learning to trust their feelings, fighting for real intimacy in a world grown selfish and insincere, and fearlessly embracing all that matters most…before it’s gone from their lives. “Mattson fully inhabits the characters who come together to render Ricky’s last year of life, and he punches hard in every scene, evoking feelings of anger and regret that any teen should ever be bullied or ostracized because of his sexuality. He also manages to create a palpable aura of suspense, backtracking into the events that led to the shooting.” — Los Angeles Review of Books “A deeply moving debut.”— New York Post “What Mattson does so adeptly here is let the narrative flow through the individual voices of both the people who were victimized by the shooter, and those closest to him…The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is a first novel with a remarkably authentic look at some very contemporary issues.” — Lambda Literary “Mattson’s first novel is an excellent, character-driven work of literary fiction that will continue to resonate with the reader long after the final page.” —Booklist “Mattson expertly teases out the relationships between our real lives and our social media feeds, the faces we show to the world and the ones we must confront in the mirror. A moving debut about the intersections of rural queerness, the internet, and forgiveness.” —Kirkus Reviews “A book that portrays the internet as the transformative gateway it can be for young people coming of age in a rural space…The fibres—real and metaphorical—are both his lifelines and the most direct path for tragedy to enter. And every decision the characters of the book make reverberates through the web and back to them as consequences they weren’t expecting. According to Ricky Graves, social media hasn’t reshaped our social worlds, but instead just created a new arena for friendship and heartbreak, hope and torment.” —Ploughshares “In his beautiful debut novel…James Han Mattson explores the fallout from an act of violence that will seem all too familiar to American readers. Using multiple first-person narrators, Mattson deftly orbits the book’s central tragedy, allowing readers a broad view of the event that does much more than explore a killer’s motivations. —American Short Fiction “Devastating and gripping. Top notch writing.” —Writer’s Bone “James Han Mattson’s exciting and inventive new novel centers around an event all too familiar to us from today’s headlines: a multiple-victim shooting. It challenges us by not only looking at the horrible costs paid by the victims of the shooter, but also delving deep into what drove the killer to desperation and the cost paid by his family and loved ones.” —Lambda Literary “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is a compelling, suspenseful, expertly told narrative that manages to have sympathy for even the worst of its characters. It’s a brilliant performance. I couldn’t put it down.” —Ron Hansen, author of A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion and The Kid “James Han Mattson’s enthralling debut deftly explores the messy complications of technology in modern life. Big-hearted and devastating, generous and probing, The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is a compulsively readable tale of finding forgiveness in the midst of cruelty, and wresting love from the wreckage of violence.” —Matthew Griffin, author of Hide “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is an immensely wise and big-hearted and fiercely smart novel—a heartbreaking autopsy of the current social moment. It’s a darkly funny, brilliantly constructed book about technology and violence and love and the loneliness that binds us all together. Put simply: James Han Mattson is a ridiculously talented writer. This is a great, great debut.” —Stuart Nadler, author of The Inseparables and Wise Men “In The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves, six intertwining narratives form a blistering tapestry of love, loss, and tragedy, reminding us that sexual identity remains a ferocious struggle for many small-town youths. In his remarkable debut, James Han Mattson both enthralls and horrifies, using the backdrop of a high school shooting to illustrate grief and longing in the age of digital communication.” —T. Geronimo Johnson, author of Welcome to Braggsville “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is wrenching and hilarious, frightening and deeply propulsive. With keen insight and virtuosic prose, Mattson conjures a Greek chorus of voices to illuminate a thoroughly modern tragedy. An exhilarating debut.” —Jennifer duBois, author of Cartwheel “James Han Mattson’s The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is a deeply felt and deeply moving meditation on the way our more tender emotions—longing, empathy, compassion—have simultaneously changed and remained steady in a world ever more maddeningly mediated through technology. It is a gripping story about the inescapable dangers of love.” —Benjamin Hale, author of The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves is comic and tragic storytelling that slowly, ingeniously reveals the nature of adolescence, identity, and the complex politics of small town communities. This artful narrative builds to poignant truths on the ways we love and hurt one another.” —Krys Lee, author of Drifting House and How I Became a North Korean https://www.jameshanmattson.com/press daily 0.75 2022-09-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f45f236385b311d958a5df/6c130b70-b4d9-4f5c-92b9-bfd8df640af8/TGI+Announcement.jpeg https://www.jameshanmattson.com/press-archive daily 0.75 2021-08-26 https://www.jameshanmattson.com/other-writing daily 0.75 2021-10-11