‘Gripping, gruesome, dark and dripping’ A.F. Harold

Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.

Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.

Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…

PRAISE FOR THIRST:

‘A gripping tale infused with dark secrets and superstitions’ Phil Hickes, author of The Haunting of Aveline Jones

‘What a story! Properly creepy Wicker Man vibes with seemingly effortless world building and characters you’ll take to your heart. Loved it’ Jennifer Killick, author of Crater Laker

‘This gruesomely imagined folk horror is the most brilliantly dark and dangerously fun book I’ve read all year’ Keith Gray, author of Creepers

Reviews

This creepy, compelling YA folk horror boasts a transporting sense of ritual and place

Guardian

Thirst draws on folk horror, with its focus on the evil that men do in service of tradition and superstition, and combines it with quintessential coming-of-age quandaries… Creepy and thought-provoking

Irish Times, Best young adult fiction for Halloween

Gripping, gruesome, dark and dripping

A gripping tale infused with dark secrets and superstitions

What a story! Properly creepy Wicker Man vibes with seemingly effortless world building and characters you’ll take to your heart. Loved it

Wow! This gloriously dark tale about an insatiable blood-thirsty river and the town held within its grip had me at the first chapter!

This gruesomely imagined folk horror is the most brilliantly dark and dangerously fun book I’ve read all year. Darren’s wonderful writing and inventive world-building drag you in and pull you under. It’s so compelling you just have to go with the flow, and hope. There’s no escaping the chilling horror.

Simpson winds up the tension expertly, as one horrific revelation follows another

Books For Keeps

Thirst is wonderfully atmospheric and will appeal to anyone who enjoys the supernatural/ horror and ‘chase’ stories. Perfect autumnal reading!

Readingzone

A truly cracking read, Thirst is wondrous strange. Dark and disturbing, it evokes half-remembered ancient stories hidden beneath the earth with dashes of Alan Garner, Nigel Kneale, and John Wyndham. One of those rare novels that is utterly transportive, that feels somehow familiar yet fresh and distinctive. A modern classic in the making. I loved it.

He is so bloodthirsty and brilliant! Bravo @darrensimpson44! What the river asks for will be given! I managed to keep this copy safe from the Wear in Durham, but I don’t think the Yeedle would be as sparing – I could feel its pull the whole way through. A most excellent slice of folk horror, and a dark morality tale too. For early teens and up who have an appetite for horror

A completely unique and totally captivating YA folk horror tale… perfect for teens to devour on autumn evenings, snuggled under a blanket

Scope For Imagination

A darkly terrifying and thought-provoking tale that will stay with you long after you’ve put the book back on the shelf

A sinister folk horror tale of elemental magic and hypocrisy. Strong characters, shocking scenes, a horrible villain, great action, and a savage critique on how we justify sacrificing others for our own good

I highly recommend you read this book. it is dark, chilling and gruesome. It is storytelling at its very best

Beths Bookcase

–Praise for Darren Simpson

—

Simpson is a compelling writer, his prose clear and muscular. He is acutely aware of generational behaviours, and of the cycle of deprivation that locks people into delinquency. He also has a marvellous sense of the uncanny

Literary Review

The very best fiction involves creating believable alternative worlds. Darren Simpson does just that in Scavengers, his extraordinary first outing for young readers

Guardian