Roar of the Lambs

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Book cover featuring a snake coiled around an elaborately decorated wooden box. The box is clasped shut with what appears to be a needle. Text reads: "Unlock the box. Unleash the apocalypse. Roar of the Lambs. From the author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me: Jamison Shea"

If you knew the world was ending, who would you save? And would they let you?

Sixteen-year-old Winnie Bray is a liar. As the resident psychic at an oddities shop, Winnie truly can see the future. But her customers only want reassurance, and Winnie only wants their money. Favorable fortunes are a fast track to funding her way out of Buffalo, New York for good, after all.

All of that changes when a vision sends her searching through the remains of her family home that burned down 10 years ago. Among the ash and rubble, Winnie finds a box made of bone, untouched by flames and… whispering. When she touches it, the box shows her a vision of death, chaos, and apocalypse, with her and rich kids Apollo and Cyrus Rathbun at the center.

Apollo knows their cousin is up to no good; with the Rathbun influence dwindling, Cyrus is aiming to present himself as the new patriarch. Despite an initial attraction, Apollo is reluctant to believe a con artist like Winnie. But soon it becomes clear that their family histories are intertwined around this whispering, hungry box, and more than their lives are on the line. Together, they must discover the origins of the box and stop unforeseen forces from opening it, thereby fulfilling the apocalyptic prophecy, or die trying.

From the author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me comes a dreamy speculative thriller about the ties that bind us to places and people, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and Tochi Onyebuchi.

Content Warnings

Blood, body horror and gore, references to bullying, car accident, classism, death of a parent, kidnapping, misogyny, racism, self harm, and violence.

Where to Buy

Available wherever books are sold.

Praise for Roar of the Lambs

Shea is a master of the dark and deceptive, and Roar of the Lambs blows the YA horror-thriller market wide open. With atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife and morally gray characters you’ll be desperate to root for, Lambs and its cypher-rich, intricate magic system changes the game. I clung to every page and know I’ll return time and again to this electrifying, mythological story."
– Taylor Grothe, author of Hollow and Of Auras and Shadows
Shea returns with a blisteringly suspenseful thriller, beckoning readers through generations of obsession and a searing race against the apocalypse… all while comforting everyone who has ever hidden parts of themselves for the sake of others."
– Andrew Joseph White, NYTimes bestselling and award-winning author of Hell Followed With Us and Compound Fracture
Shea’s latest YA LGBTQ horror is not for the squeamish. Told from various perspectives, Shea’s historical time line of the Rathbun lineage sheds light on white supremacy and the ways misappropriation still plays out in present day, along with the objectification of Black women. A great read for teen fans (or soon-to-be fans) of Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart."
– Booklist