Tiny Threads: A Novel

In this sinister, slow-burn novel of supernatural suspense, a young woman gets her dream job working for a famous designer—and discovers the dark side of high-stakes fashion.

“Lilliam Rivera cuts the fashion industry to shreds in this horror-filled take on late-stage capitalism.”—CrimeReads, "Best Books of the Year"

Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she’s always dreamed of: A high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line.

But it’s not long before Samara’s dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare as Mota’s big fashion show approaches and the pressure on her turns crushing. Perhaps that’s why she begins hearing voices in her room at night—and seeing strange things that can’t be explained away by stress or anxiety or the number of drinks she’s been consuming.

And it may not be just Samara imagining things as her psyche unravels, because she soon discovers hints that her new city—and the House of Mota—may be built on a foundation of secrets and lies. Now Samara must uncover what hideous truths lurk in the shadows of this illusory world of glamour and beauty before those shadows claim her.

Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell Fellow and an award-winning author of eight works of fiction: four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré honor and featured on NPR and in The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and multiple “best of” lists. Her novel Never Look Back is slated for a movie adaptation. A Bronx, New York, native, Lilliam Rivera currently lives in Los Angeles.