''A resonant novella set in one of King''s signature locales: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine'' Washington Post
The small town of Castle Rock, Maine, has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told...until now.
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson takes the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
One day, while Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground and the chink of an aluminium bat hitting a baseball, a stranger calls out to her.
On a bench in the shade sits a man in a small, neat black hat. He offers Gwendy a mahogany box with coloured buttons. The buttons will produce gifts, such as chocolate which can make you slimmer. But he warns her that the gifts will be ''small recompense for the responsibility.''
Journey back to Castle Rock in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December
STEPHEN KING is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. November 2017 saw SLEEPING BEAUTIES, co-written with Owen King, soar to No. 1 on the bestseller list. His crime thrillers featuring Bill Hodges were all No. 1 bestsellers with MR MERCEDES winning the Edgar Award for best novel, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award and receiving the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014. His second bestseller to feature Hodges. Many of King's books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption. King was the recipient of America's prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine. RICHARD CHIZMAR's fiction has appeared in dozens of publications including Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. He has won two World Fantasy Awards, four international Horror Guild Awards, and the HWA's Board of Trustee's Award. His third short story collection, A LONG DECEMBER, was published to starred reviews and was featured in Entertainment Weekly.
