Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dead and the Dark | 2021 | Courtney Gould | Buy |
| 2 | Where Echoes Die | 2023 | Courtney Gould | Buy |
| 3 | What the Woods Took | 2024 | Courtney Gould | Buy |
Courtney Gould’s three standalone novels are YA supernatural thrillers. The Dead and the Dark (2021) is about a teenager investigating disappearances in her parents’ hometown. Where Echoes Die (2023) follows two sisters drawn to a mysterious desert community. What the Woods Took (2024) is her most recent novel.
Each book works on its own with a different cast of characters, but Gould returns to similar territory across all three. Small towns with secrets, eerie landscapes, and young protagonists confronting things they do not fully understand run through her fiction. The Dead and the Dark was her debut and received strong attention in the YA horror space.
Gould writes queer characters into her stories without making the horror secondary to the romance, and that balance has earned her a loyal readership. Readers who like atmospheric horror with a rural or isolated setting will find all three books worth picking up.