All suburban streets hold secrets, and ghosts, but it seems Summerland Place holds more than most. Summerland catches the attention of The Red Mullet Hair Salon. They make the trip and pay for the exclusive tour to enter and explore every nook and cranny of the abandoned houses there at their own risk.
At Summerland Place, the group are welcomed by Milton, a local who runs the tours from the home he grew up in. They discover homes with malevolent ghosts and tragic spirits, memories of family gatherings, and family trauma. All leave the homes changed by the experience, and what it triggers inside of them.
Some stay in a euphoric state of mind, lost in Summertime. But Georgia, owner of the Salon, believes she’s stronger than any hold of Summerland. With no trauma, or secrets, and as some say no heart, she may be able to shake what holds the others. Of course, she didn’t expect to fall in love. Her instinct tells her ‘no’, but she can’t help being drawn into the disturbing world of Milton and his mother, as she feels the seductive draw of Summertime ever stronger.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Even as the seasons change, summer still holds fast for one final scare before the fall, and Kaaron Warren’s latest makes it all happen. The author of Sleights, Walking the Tree, Sky, The Grief Hole, Into Bones Like Oil, and The Underhistory, Warren’s short-fiction can be found in such publications as Out of the Ruins, The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, A World of Horror, and Giving the Devil His Due, among others. With this new novel, Warren presents a team of ghost hunters forever changed by their haunted experiences, forever haunted by themselves. Kathe Koja (The Cipher, Bad Brains) says: “You’re never safe with Kaaron Warren―in a cul-de-sac full of shadows, in a brutal dream of a game, in the pages of Going to Summertime―but you follow her all the same: because her voice is irresistible. And this book is an experience you need to have.”, and John Langan (The Fisherman) says: “Kaaron Warren is the Virginia Woolf of the weird and horrific. Going to Summertime is her latest success, a short novel brimming with stark terror, heartbreak, and the slippery nature of history and identity. Maybe most of all, it’s about female friendship. Read it, and then read everything else she has written.”
Releasing from Meerkat Press 27 October 2026, Going to Summertime by Kaaron Warren is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA