Lauren Beukes

In Depression-era Chicago, Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women, burning with potential. Curtis stalks them through their lives across different eras until, in 1989, one of his victims, Kirby Mazrachi, survives and starts hunting him back.Working with a former homicide reporter who is falling for her, Kirby races against time and reason to unravel an impossible mystery.

Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies, but this one is unique even by Detroit's standards: half boy, half deer, somehow fused together. As stranger and more disturbing bodies are discovered, how can the city hold on to a reality that is already tearing at its seams? If you're Detective Versado's geeky teenage daughter, Layla, you commence a dangerous flirtation with a potential predator online. If you're desperate freelance journalist Jonno, you do whatever it takes to get the exclusive on a horrific story. If you're Thomas Keen, known on the street as TK, you'll do what you can to keep your homeless family safe--and find the monster who is possessed by the dream of violently remaking the world. If Lauren Beukes's internationally bestselling The Shining Girls was a time-jumping thrill ride through the past, her Broken Monsters is a genre-redefining thriller about broken cities, broken dreams, and broken people trying to put themselves back together again.

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own.

Most of the men are dead. Three years after the pandemic known as The Manfall, governments still hold and life continues -- but a world run by women isn't always a better place.Twelve-year-old Miles is one of the last boys alive, and his mother, Cole, will protect him at all costs. On the run after a horrific act of violence-and pursued by Cole's own ruthless sister, Billie -- all Cole wants is to raise her kid somewhere he won't be preyed on as a reproductive resource or a sex object or a stand-in son. Someplace like home.To get there, Cole and Miles must journey across a changed America in disguise as mother and daughter. From a military base in Seattle to a luxury bunker, from an anarchist commune in Salt Lake City to a roaming cult that's all too ready to see Miles as the answer to their prayers, the two race to stay ahead at every step . . . even as Billie and her sinister crew draw closer.A sharply feminist, high-stakes thriller from award-winning author Lauren Beukes, Afterland brilliantly blends psychological suspense, American noir, and science fiction into an adventure all its own -- and perfect for our times.

A frighteningly persuasive, high-tech fable, this novel follows the lives of four narrators living in an alternative futuristic Cape Town, South Africa. Kendra, an art-school dropout, brands herself for a nanotech marketing program; Lerato, an ambitious AIDS baby, plots to defect from her corporate employers; Tendeka, a hot-headed activist, is becoming increasingly rabid; and Toby, a roguish blogger, discovers that the video games he plays for cash are much more than they seem. On a collision course that will rewire their lives, this story crackles with bold and infectious ideas, connecting a ruthless corporate-apartheid government with video games, biotech attack dogs, slippery online identities, a township soccer school, shocking cell phones, addictive branding, and genetically modified art. Taking hedonistic trends in society to their ultimate conclusions, this tale paints anything but a forecasted utopia, satirically undermining the reified idea of progress as society's white knight.

A grieving daughter’s search for her mother becomes a journey across alternate realities in Bridge, a wildly entertaining, reality-bending new thriller from Lauren Beukes, author of the AppleTV+ smash hit The Shining Girls.It was a game they played; the other worlds, the other lives. It was part of her mom’s grand delusions. It wasn’t real. Unless it was… Bridget Kittinger has always been paralyzed by choices. It has a lot to do with growing up in the long shadow of her mother, Jo, a troubled neuroscientist. Jo’s obsession with one mythical object, the “dreamworm”—which she believed enabled travel to other worlds—led to their estrangement. Now, suddenly, Jo is dead. And in packing up her home, Bridge finds a strange device buried deep in Jo’s freezer: the dreamworm. Against all odds, it actually can open the door—to all other realities, and to all other versions of herself, too. Could Bridge find who she should be in this world, by visiting the others? And could her Jo still be alive somewhere? But there’s a sinister cost to trading places, and others hunting the dreamworm who would kill to get their hands on it . . . Across a thousand possible lives, from Portland to Haiti, from Argentina to the alligator-infested riverways of North Carolina, Bridge takes readers on a highly original thrill ride, pushing the boundaries of what we know about mothers and daughters, hunters and seekers, and who we each choose to be.

In the near future, lab-grown sex dolls are the pleasure toy of choice in this disturbing and provocative short story from Lauren Beukes, the bestselling author of The Shining Girls.Actor and sex worker Nats is experienced at putting on a show. However, her new gig supplying intimate whispers for growgirls takes her to a place darker and lonelier than she could have ever imagined. The lab-grown dolls can respond to pleasure or pain; their synthetic heads contain only the simplest AI to prevent any pesky robo sex doll uprisings. But just because growgirls don’t have a brain, doesn’t mean they don’t have a voice…Ungirls is part of Disorder, a collection of six short stories of living nightmares, chilling visions, and uncanny imagination that explore a world losing its balance in terrifying ways. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single disorienting sitting.

One was possessed by a poltergeist. Another was trapped in a haunted house. A third had a killer doll. Ever wonder what happened to these children of the 1980s? Find out in Survivors' Club, a new series co-written by renowned horror novelist Lauren Beukes and award-winning cover designer and illustrator Dale Halverson, with art by Ryan Kelly (Northlanders). Having found each other over the internet, six grown-up survivors are drawn together by the horrors they experienced in 1987 when a rash of occult events occurred around the world--with fatal results. Now, there are indications that it may be happening all over again. Is it possible that these six aren't just survivors--but were chosen for their fates? Collecting: Survivors' Club 1-9

In her edgy, satiric debut collection, award-winning South African journalist and author Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls, Moxyland) never holds back. Nothing is simple and everything is perilous when humans are involved: corruption, greed, and even love (of a sort).A permanent corporate branding gives a young woman enhanced physical abilities and a nearly-constant highRecruits lifted out of poverty find a far worse fate collecting biohazardous plants on an inhospitable worldThe only adult survivor of the apocalypse decides he will be the savior of teenagers; the teenagers are not amused.From Johannesburg to outer space, these previously uncollected tales are a compelling, dark, and slippery ride.

The safe choice? Walk away. But when has Jessica Jones ever played it safe?Jessica Jones has made an art of ignoring her particular brand of super-powered trauma. But these days, she’s giving the whole “self-care” thing a try. Seeing a therapist, finding healthier coping mechanisms (read: no business-hours drinking), working toward not wanting to punch things all the time. Maybe even taking the occasional case that won’t eat her alive. A simple missing persons case seems like just the ticket. But when a boy’s body turns up under an overpass in what looks like a cut-and-dried OD, Jessica can’t let it go and dives headlong into an obsessive search for answers.

This is a book about raconteurs and renegades, writers, poets, provocateurs and pop stars, artists and activists and a cross-dressing doctor. From Africa's first black movie star and Drum covergirl, Dolly Rathebe, to Glenda Kemp, the snake-dancing stripper who shook up the verkrampte social mores of the 70s, these are the riveting true tales of women who broke with convention and damn the consequences.Spanning over 350 years of history, Maverick explores the compelling lives of some of South Africa's most famous - and notorious - women, including Brenda Fassie, Daisy de Melker, Sara Bartmann, Ingrid Jonker, Helen Joseph, Nongqawuse and Bessie Head. But it also delves into lesser-known stories of the likes of reluctant Boer commando Sarah Raal, the ill-fated khoekhoe interpreter Krotoa-Eva, Black Sophie, the brothel queen of Bree Street, and Elizabeth Klarer, who gave birth to an alien love child in 1958.

One was possessed by a poltergeist. Another was trapped in a haunted house. A third had a killer doll. Ever wonder what happened to these children of the 1980s? Find out in SURVIVORS CLUB, a new series cowritten by renowned horror novelist Lauren Beukes and videogame journalist Dave Halvorsen, with art by Ryan Kelly (NORTHLANDERS). Having found each other over the internet, six grown-up survivors are drawn together by the horrors they experienced in 1987 when a rash of occult events occurred around the world—with fatal results. Now, there are indications that it may be happening all over again. Is it possible that these six aren’t just survivors—but were chosen for their fates?

Rapunzel's hair is the least of her problems. Her adopted witch mother thinks she's a slut, origami birds carrying a sinister message are attacking her window--and now, she has to defy Bigby and Snow's orders to travel from New York to Tokyo and resolve a mystery from her troubled past!

In the second issue of this startling new series, the club disperses to pursue new revelations, secrets and sinister effects of a deadly video game. Chenzira and Teo confront GeeForce in the hospital; Simon and Alice initiate a potentially fatal attraction, and Harvey flashes back to the genesis of his macabre Mr. Empty.

Six kids who lived through unbelievable horrors in 1987, now all grownup, are united in L.A. It’s monster versus monster (versus exorcists) in a torturous game between Mr. Empty and the Muskagee House. We discover the terrible truth about Simon’s parents and meet the Hinkels, the exorcists who now control the haunted property and try to keep a handle on everything that dwells inside it.

Harvey is a captive audience for Alice’s creepy childhood stories. Simon tries to figure out the bloody message from his missing parents. Kiri and Teo play show-and-tell with their monsters and Chenzira gets too deep into the mind of a video game.

We look back to Rapunzel's first fateful steps as she's shipwrecked on the shores of the Hidden Kingdom. She's charmed by the Celestial Court, but there is political intrigue afoot and a forbidden love affair when Rapunzel falls in love with a kitsune fox spirit.

They say that sport is a substitute for war, but the line dividing the two is often hard to make out—especially in the no-holds-barred pages of STRANGE SPORTS STORIES, where the spirit of good, clean competition gets a brutal body check from the darker side of human nature.After all, the urge to be the best—and to crush your opponents along the way—is one of the defining characteristics of life, from the lowliest microbes to the most artificially intelligent of robots. Whether you’re scoring goals to appease the elder gods or rolling boules with the Devil, everyone wants to be a winner—and you can’t win if you don’t play!Collects STRANGE SPORTS STORIES #1-4, featuring work by Paul Pope , Lauren Beukes , Gilbert Hernandez , Amy Chu , Andy MacDonald , Ivan Brandon , Darick Robertson , Monica Gallagher and many more!

Rapunzel kicks ass when hungry ghosts and angry Yakuza storm the skyscraper. Meanwhile, Bigby and Frau Totenkinder arrive in Japan only to get captured by local Harijuku girls! "The Hidden Kingdom" part 3.

It's the final boss battle! Chenzira takes on the haunted video game, Akheron. But who is playing whom? Double lives and dirty secrets are exposed, along with the monsters clawing their way out from under the bed. It's all coming out, but that's no guarantee the Survivors will survive the night.

Simon, Alice, Kiri and Teo take a road trip to a bad, bad place. Chenzira's on a solo mission to find hell's arcade. Akherzombies attack! Mr. Empty hitches a ride. Teo discovers the horror of Lady Bone's nest...and all is not what is seems.

Rapunzel hatches a desperate plan to steal Tomoko's soulfire back from the conniving shogun Ryogan. There's murder, scheming, poisonings, safe-cracking, vengeful ghosts, treachery revealed in porcelain and a terrible, bloody invasion. "The Hidden Kingdom" part 4.

A severed head plays tour guide, and Kiri and Chenzira uncover the secret of what connects them all. Simon gets into haunted-house training and Alice reveals a new toy, as monstrous as her dark ambitions. In the battle of Muskagee, which Survivors will actually survive and what will be left of them?

Will Rapunzel discover what happened to her long-lost children--or will the Japanese Fables have their final, bloody revenge? "The Hidden Kingdom" part 6.

Rapunzel discovers that bloody vengeance will come back to haunt you. Frau Totenkinder and Bigby get caught in a war between Tomoko's yakuza gangsters and Katagiri's not-so-unassuming sumo school. "The Hidden Kingdom" part 5.

Unathi was singing karaoke when the creature attacked Tokyo. Or rather, she was about to sing karaoke. Was, in fact, about to be the very first person in Shibuya’s Big Echo to break in the newly uploaded Britney come-back hip-hop remix of the Spice Girls’ classic ‘Tell Me What You Want (What You Really Really Want)’.