Title: I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours

Author: Nat Cassidy

Release Date: May 5^th, 2026

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0G2MNCYK3/

Summary

The first collection from USA Today bestselling author Nat Cassidy, featuring his unique blend of gleefully terrifying short fiction.

“[A] platter of phobias… Luckily, for every scare, there is a sense of resilience and a laugh in the face of fear to get you there.” —Fangoria Magazine, on Rest Stop

There are locations in this world where the light doesn’t seem to reach. Where, no matter how illuminated the place might be, shadows creep in too strongly to fight back.

A suspiciously empty gas station rest stop in the middle of the night, littered with googley eyes… A doctor’s office, where a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder wait on the desk… A tech millionaire’s haunted kitchen… A Bible-quoting ventriloquist’s dingy apartment… A yoga retreat in the middle of the desert, silent except for the screaming…

These locations and more are your destination and bestselling author Nat Cassidy will be your guide. Featuring the Bram Stoker Award-nominated, critically acclaimed novella Rest Stop (one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2024), along with a number of other original short stories, some which have never been published before, I Know A Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours is a travelogue down twisting side streets and through alleyways where the darkness has eyes… and teeth.

Let’s hope you make it home in one piece.

My Review

4/5 Stars

I’m a huge Nat Cassidy fan, so when I heard he had a collection coming out later this year, I couldn’t resist throwing my hat in the ring for an ARC. These stories are deliciously twisted, and more often than not I had no idea where the plot was headed. The collection feels like a perfect sampler of Nat Cassidy’s range and talent.

Here’s my three favorites from the collection:

Meet Cute #1- The Unluckiest Girl: A “cute” little meeting at a bar turns into a surely horrific night.

Nice: A Christmas-obsessed boy is visited by a jaded, exhausted elf who convinces him to be naughty. And he really runs with the title.

Run For Your Life: A real classic twist on the “be careful what you wish for” idea when a Beatles cover band decides he doesn’t want to just cover their songs, he wants them to be his own.

Regardless of your specific taste in horror, there’s something here that will get its hooks into you. Whether you’re drawn to psychological dread, shocking twists, or gore this collection offers at least one story that will stay with you.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.