The Midnight Knock
- Judith D Collins
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
By: John Fram
Narrator: TBA
ISBN: 9781668069424
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 10/21/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
For fans of Stuart Turton and Blake Crouch, a mind-bending locked-room thriller about eight strangers trapped in a remote Texas motel as they race against time to save their lives—from the acclaimed author of the “compelling, thought-provoking, page-turning” (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) No Road Home.
In the frigid west Texas desert, seven weary travelers converge on a lonely motel at the foot of a massive mountain. Ethan and Hunter have left behind a corpse, an arson, and a horrific act of violence. Kyla and Fernanda are making a desperate escape to the border. Stanley and his granddaughter are on their way back from Mexico with a mysterious man pursuing them on a motorcycle. All of them are on the run from something. All of them have something to hide.
And somehow, they’re all connected to the motel’s eighth guest, an enigmatic woman named Sarah Powers.
Within hours, Sarah is dead. The strange twins who run the motel inform the surviving guests that her murder demands justice. The guests are given an ultimatum: bring proof of who killed Sarah Powers by midnight or die when the protective lights around the motel go out.
Because something very old and very dangerous lurks in this corner of the desert. And it’s hungry.
But nothing at the Brake Inn Motel is quite as it seems. As time ticks away, alliances fracture, and secrets unravel, the guests will have to confront not just the violence of the past—they will need to face the darkness within themselves.
A masterful blend of psychological tension, supernatural horror, and intricate storytelling, The Midnight Knock pushes the boundaries of what a mystery can be. And with its unforgettable climax, this novel cements John Fram as a contemporary master of thrillers.
Praise
"And Then There Were None meets The Twilight Zone in Fram’s inventive latest. Fram keeps even savvy readers guessing about where he’s headed next and manages to flesh out each member of the book’s large cast. The result is wickedly satisfying."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Midnight Knock is a brilliant, trippy, gore-drenched western where everything is queer, including time and space. Like S.A. Cosby, Fram writes gorgeously about the tragedies and triumphs of Southern culture and masculinity (in Fram’s case, Southwestern); like Blake Crouch, he bends the laws of nature to explore big ideas. But The Midnight Knock is inventive and provocative in a way only Fram’s brain can produce, marking him as a horror-thriller writer par excellence.”
—Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me
"David Lynch meets Agatha Christie in this razor-sharp, nightmare of a thriller. John Fram delivers a diabolically smart, high-stakes puzzle wrapped in dread and accompanied by a ticking clock that ratchets the tension to unbearable levels! It's creepy, clever, and cinematic as hell. Hollywood won't be far behind."
—Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Edge Of Honor
"The Midnight Knock takes you on an eerie journey through the wide open and desolate landscape of Texas where everyone is a suspect. All the thrills of an escape room, all the chills of a Stephen King novel. You will be left guessing until the very last page!"
—Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins
About the Author
John Fram is the author of the critically acclaimed supernatural thriller THE BRIGHT LANDS and the queer Gothic chiller NO ROAD HOME, named a Washington Post notable book and a Most Anticipated Summer Read by Cosmopolitan. A native of Texas, he lives in Waco.
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