Coming 10.28.25
A fascinating blend of horror and magical realism, this spine-tingling thriller explores the complex relationship between women, their bodies, and the natural world.
Cutthroat NYC lawyer Mary Whelton just buried her problematic old mentor. But as she leaves the mourners and protesters behind, the press stays hot on her heels. Desperate to escape, she unwittingly barrels deep into a remote forest in upstate New York. Until a collision—with a buzzing, oozing throng of cicadas—stops her dead in her tracks.
She awakens in a crude cabin, held captive by Girl, a simple, hulking woman who mistakes Mary for her derelict mother and obsesses over a mysterious Brood. Read More.
Praise for The Brood
“Baum’s prose is hypnotic, lush, and bristling with menace. Every page pulses with life—cicadas buzz incessantly, roots twist with intent, and the forest hums with ancient hunger.…It forces us to confront the things we would rather not think about: our bodies, their decay and function, and our place within a natural world that does not bend to us. Baum has given us a beautiful, terrifying hymn to the wilderness—both without and within.”
–Susana Aikin, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author of The Weight of the Heart and We Shall See the Sky Sparkling
"Rebecca Baum's The Brood is a fever dream of body horror and self-discovery that will keep you turning the pages. Be careful this book doesn't crawl under your skin."
–Joe Hart, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Or Else
"The Brood had me hooked at its premise -- a cutthroat lawyer colliding with nature and trauma. I read an early draft and have been literally thinking about this novel for years -- it's fiercely original and indelible. Fans of Yellowjackets and The Substance will eat it up."
– Carinn Jade, author of The Astrology House
“Painted with surreal imagery, yet rooted in the visceral real, Baum’s novel is a thrilling journey into the forests of our innermost darkness.”
–Robert P. Ottone, author of The Vile Thing We Created and the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel The Triangle
"It's rare for an author to rise above the sum of their inspirations – rarer still to craft them into something entirely their own. Baum proves yet again she's an alchemist of the highest order. Equal parts psychological thriller and body horror, The Brood is a gripping chimera that crawls under mind and skin alike. Perfect for fans of Misery and The Fly, or anyone who enjoys the macabre with a brain."
–J.S. Gold, author of The Sanhedrin Chronicles
"When Mary, a high-powered NY attorney, takes a wrong turn and encounters the childlike Girl, she endures a wretched reality that changes her forever. Who knew cicadas could be so terrifying? Not only will Baum’s skin-crawlingly good horror novel leave you raw, and questioning who to root for, but The Brood will linger long after you’ve turned the last page."
–Aliah Wright, author of Now You Owe Me, a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year finalist
“Like the cicadas buzzing at its heart, The Brood is a story that digs for the boundary between the revolting and the sublime. Baum’s body horror is both skin-crawling and gut-churning, but through that tunnel of dank, dark earth, she testifies unflinchingly to the awful beauty of surrender and transformation.”
–Jen Julian, author of Red Rabbit Ghost
Rebecca Baum
is a novelist, ghostwriter, and content marketer. While her ghostwriting has served founders of global nonprofits and mission-driven businesses, Baum wades into the wonderfully troubled waters of horror with her novel The Brood. Her prior book, Lifelike Creatures, was longlisted for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation’s 2021 best debut novel set in the American South. A native of rural Louisiana, Baum feels she has almost earned the right to call herself a New Yorker after more than twenty-five years in the city. She lives in Greenwich Village with her husband and favorite karaoke partner, Gary. Read her story.