Whistle

Annie Blunt has just lived through a dreadful year. Her husband died in a hit-and-run accident, and then one of the children's books that her career as a writer and illustrator rests on set off a major scandal. Hoping to start over, she takes her son Charlie to a pleasant small town in upstate New York, where the two of them can try to recover.

The new home is isolated, and Charlie is bored and lonely until he discovers an old train set in a locked shed on their property. He is delighted with it, and Annie is relieved to see him happy, but something about the toy bothers her. Strange sounds wake her at night, and she is sure she can hear a train even though no working track runs anywhere nearby. Odd events start to unfold around the neighborhood as well.

Annie also finds herself drawing a disturbing new character who does not belong in any children's book. She knows grief can warp the mind, but she begins to fear she has escaped one nightmare only to land in a worse one. This is a supernatural chiller and a departure into new territory for bestselling author Linwood Barclay.