BRAM STOKER AWARD WINNER. "A harrowing exploration of the expanding labyrinth of despair and the self." Paul Tremblay. A mindbending and visceral experimental horror about a young man trapped in an infinite Montreal subway station, perfect for readers of Mark Z. Danielewski and Susanna Clarke. Vickers has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station. Determined to find a way out again, he starts to explore the rooms and corridors ahead of him. But no matter how many claustrophobic hallways or vast cathedral-esque rooms he passes through, the exit is nowhere in sight. The more he explores his strange new prison, the more he becomes convinced that he hasn’t been trapped there accidentally and, amongst the shadows and concrete, he comes to realise that he almost certainly is not alone. A terrifying psychological nightmare from a powerful new voice in horror. BRAM STOKER AWARD WINNER SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE THIS IS HORROR AWARD NOMINEE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER FINALIST BARNES & NOBLE BEST HORROR 2024 PASTE MAGAZINE BEST HORROR BOOKS 2024 ESQUIRE BEST HORROR BOOK OF 2024 LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST HORROR OF 2024 REACTOR BEST BOOKS OF 2024 THE LINEUP HORROR HIGHLIGHTS 2024 A stark rumination on purpose and struggle... If you're a reader looking for raw discussion from a resolute voice, Coup de Grâce may be your next stop—Fangoria Equal parts fun and frantic desolation... Like all good liminal architecture, Coup de Grâce contains far more than its space should allow, and it unfolds like cursed origami.—Esquire An incredibly immersive read, but sensitive, heartbreaking and hopeful too.—Reactor, Best Books of 2024 Ajram is a lyricist of the highest order... Definitely one of the best novellas of the year. Don’t miss it.—Gabino Iglesias, Locus Magazine Full of evocative, carefully constructed prose and featuring some formalist flourishes that transform its final pages into even more of an emotional gut punch, Coup de Grâce is one of those books you can read in an afternoon, and then think about for months... an incredible debut from Ajram.—Paste Magazine, Best Horror Books 2024 Ajram cleverly transforms what seems like a deceptively simple plot into a complex, moving, and immersive contemplation of the very real horror of living with severe depression.—The Lineup, Horror Highlights 2024 Intelligent, unsettling, and ripe for re-readability...a powerful fictional debut.—Montreal Review of Books "In this caustic confrontation with the self, Ajram's carefully crafted dread is a hand wrapped around your throat.”—Andrew F. Sullivan, author of The Marigold “Sofia Ajram has crafted a dizzying and unsettling story, beautifully navigating the stormy waters that lie between blind hope and clear-eyed despair. Coup de Grâce is a gift to anyone who reads it, wrapped neatly in slate gray paper and topped with a Möbius strip bow.”—Scott Leeds, author of Schrader's Chord "Intricately woven and often too upsetting to bear, Ajram's debut novella pulsates with a dizzying, almost mystifying energy. You will not feel safe while reading this book. A gift to be savored, a transgression to be endured."—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke "To succinctly describe the power of this haunting labyrinth of a book would require a writer of Sofia Ajram's skill--and that's a rare thing indeed. This is the sort of story you read in one day and then think about for a lifetime. It's bigger on the inside."—Nat Cassidy, author of Nestlings and Mary: An Awakening of Terror “An ever-expanding labyrinthine nightmare. A maze of memory. A kaleidoscope of caverns and chambers, peering deep into our movements of wake and sleep, guilt and regret and purpose. Coup de Grâce is one of the most unique, yet terrifying stories I have ever read, a terror so infinite I feel completely changed having read it.” Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Crime Scene and Children of Chicago "Coup de Grâce is dark, visceral, and refreshing. It's horror that feels modern and exciting, it pulls you down into the depths with the protagonist and holds you under until the last page. It's an insanely impressive debut, combining surreal backrooms, queerness, suicidal ideation and a tender understanding of what it FEELS like to be mentally ill. I felt this book deep in my bones, and, as dark as it is, it was powerful to feel so seen."—Isa Mazzei, screenwriter of CAM "Coup de Grâce is an eerie, twisty, mind-bendingly enjoyable masterpiece of truly Backroom-sized proportions. Compulsive AF"—Gemma Amor, Bram Stoker-nominated author of Dear Laura “Mind-bendingly tense, Ajram winds the reader through prose that arcs and fizzles with the distraught terror of survival. Coup de Grâce was both fun and te