A heartbreaking page-turner, Willa C. Richards’s debut novel is the story of a broken family looking for answers in the face of the unknown, and asks us to reconsider the power and truth of memory.

PAPERBACK RELEASE: JULY 5 2022

“On its face, The Comfort of Monsters is a riveting page-turner that begs to be read quickly, compulsively. But page by page, this electrifying debut by Willa Richards weaves an increasingly complicated and dark tale of guilt, fury, and the danger of building stories on that shakiest of foundations, memory. Every sentence is a delight in this taut and thrilling debut by Willa Richards.”

-Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine

“The Comfort of Monsters is shadowed by crime but cares more about consequence— it pairs the pulse-quickening pleasures of a murder mystery with a probing portrait of loss. Willa C. Richards’s unflinching debut picks apart a tangled knot of violence, shame, secrecy, lust, and fearsome love. A dark, elegiac examination of sisterhood that’s impossible to forget.”

-Robin Wasserman, author of Girls on Fire

“The Comfort of Monsters captivates with a cold case, and becomes an unflinching, unapologetic story of sexuality, victimhood, and the dangerous pull of memory. Richards exposes the underbelly of grief, shows the heartbeat shaking that thin skin, and leaves you, at novel’s end, holding something raw, fragile and essentially human. A remarkable debut.”

-Lydia Fitzpatrick, author of Lights All Night Long

“In her fiery debut novel, Willa Richards folds the electrifying zing of crime fiction into an exceptional study of character. This book begs us to consider why we blame and otherize victims of violent crimes – especially when they come from society’s margins. Potent, gritty, and deeply comprehending, The Comfort of Monsters is written with a clear eye and an aching heart.”

-Amity Gaige, author of Sea wife

“The Comfort of Monsters casts a powerful spell with its sharp, lucid prose and its urgent, irresistible pacing. Underneath this shimmering surface, however, Willa C. Richards has crafted a profound novel of depth, complication, and intelligence, exploring the inconstancy of our recollections and revealing the elusiveness of our deepest truths. This debut is both a thrill and a provocation.”

-Jamel Brinkley, National Book Award Finalist and author of A Lucky Man