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THE MACABRE

Kosoko Jackson

A Novel

From award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Kosoko Jackson comes his adult debut, a standalone novel blending of art history, time- and globe-hopping adventure, and dark horror and fantasy about ten cursed paintings and the lengths people will go to collect them, destroy them...or be destroyed.
A picture is worth a thousand nightmares.

A struggling painter, Lewis Dixon is shocked when the British Museum shows an unusual interest in his art. While he's always felt there's something powerful about what he puts on canvas, he also felt there was something disturbing just under the surface especially as he was compelled to make a painting of a paintingone that he has a connection to: the object of his art is one of the ten paintings his ancestor had created over a hundred years ago. Only his version is surreal...and maybe just a touch horrific.
Certainly not something the snobby art world is going to admire.

Still, he accepts the invitation, only to find not a curated show, but a test: to see if not only he has the magic necessary to enter the paintings, but also the strength to escape them. Because unbeknownst to Lewis, there is power in his art, just as his ancestor's ten paintings carry with them both immense eldritch abilities and a terrible cursemaking them, perhaps, the most valuable paintings in the world.

And Lewis has been asked to destroy them all.

With orders from a mysterious museum official, Cassandra, and partnered with a handsome agent in her employ, Noah Rao, Lewis must plunge into a world of black markets, gothic magic, ancient history, and unspeakable terror to save those unlucky enough to call any of the paintings their own, and to hopefully locate the tenth painting in the series, long missing, the powers of which are suspected to be most devastating of all...
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Published 2025-09-09 by Harper Voyager

Comments

Kosoko Jackson pulls you into this vividly written mashup of horror and fantasy and doesn't let you go. Wonderfully executed, three-dimensional characters take you on an emotional journey, unraveling the mystery of living art page by page, painting by painting.

This book is batshit, in the best way.

The Macabre is an expert blend of the sublime and horror, told in a way that entices both art lovers and those prone to ghoulish flights of fancy. And if you're both--look out! Jackson weaves this tale with a crucial precision not unlike the brush in a painter's hand. You'll never feel more breathless after reading this book.

An absolutely captivating and electrifying novel, layered in rich meaning and brimming with lush prose. In Kosoko Jackson's The Macabre we are confronted with magic and art, painting and meaning. I am completely under its spell.

Nothing is as it seems in this eerie page-turner, YA author Jackon's adult debut.

The Macabre is a feast of dark artistry. Fast-paced. Luscious world-building. Jackson wields emotional depth, tight plotting, and genuine terror, to craft a masterpiece.

THE MACABRE is a profoundly gripping horror novel that manages to hit notes of intense surrealism ...The well-crafted narrative offers more than a few surprises alongside the mind-bending horror, making THE MACABRE a superior story deserving of a wide audience.

Evocative, eerie, and beguiling. The Macabre expertly blends the best of both horror and fantasy. I loved this read.

An action-forward narrative punctuated with exposition and leaps of intuition that keep the plot racing.

The Macabre is tensely written, dripping with menace and mystery. Jackson paints each page with themes of grief and the difficulties in letting go, revealing the darkest places these emotions can lead.

Kosoko Jackson storms into the horror genre with The Macabre a thrilling and chilling story that explores the power of art... in all its wonder and terror.

I'm so honored that my Unseen World books were an inspiration for Kosoko Jackson's The Macabre. Readers who crave sharp and vivid magic that explores the uncanny connection between eldritch horror and great art will be captivated by this layered and imaginative novel.

A page-turning, continent-spanning adventure that combines elements of psychological horror and gore with dark humor and a queer romance between Lewis and Noah, whose businesslike demeanor hides a complex and tragic past. Horror and fantasy fans alike will embrace Jackson as an exciting new voice.