On the Lips of Children

"Matthews is a damn good writer, and make no mistake, he will hurt you."-Jack Ketchum

Meet Macon. Tattoo artist. Athlete. Family man. He's planning to run a marathon, but the event becomes something terrible. During a warm-up run, Macon falls prey to a bizarre man and his wife who dwell in an underground drug-smuggling tunnel. They raise their twin children in a way Macon couldn't imagine: skinning unsuspecting victims for food and money. And Macon, and his family, are next.

"Mark Matthews' On the Lips of Children is a sprint down a path of high-adrenaline terror that never offers the comfort of monsters you can dismiss by reminding yourself "there's no such thing as..." The story alternates between harsh reality and an almost dream-like surreality while never losing sight of the real heart of good storytelling. Matthews demonstrates that you don't have far down to go to reach the underworld, yet the road back up is a lot harder run than anyone is prepared to make." ~ Bracken MacLeod, author of Mountain Home

"An ordinary running trail becomes the most terrifying place on the planet for Mark Matthews' troubled, likeable, marathon-running, tattooed, hipster protagonists and their young daughter. But, for the horror-show clan living under that trail -- who subsist on flesh and bath salts in a nightmare orgy of blood and crazy -- the hipsters are a rare treat indeed. As the family v. family showdown transpires underground and off the beaten path, the vulnerability of running on a trail -- alone but for the watchers in the woods -- makes the setting unique and well-crafted. Written with verve, surprising compassion, and bite, On the Lips of Children is a seriously demented must read." ~ Sacha Z. Scoblic, author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety

"On the Lips of Children by Mark Matthews, is a dark, terrifying page-turner. It's Stephen King's Misery on bath salts. In a cave. It scared the crap out of me. The story was original. The characters were fascinating, exposing the reader to worlds foreign to most of us. Matthews has a knack for pacing his story then jolting the reader with a frightening plot twist. Read this book." ~ Michele Miller, aAmazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinalist

"Mark Matthews' keen ability to bring his own very real personal experiences to life in the guise of fiction, in this instance delightfully horrific fiction, makes even the macabre relatable." ~ Peter Rosche, author of My Dead Friend Sarah

"On the Lips of Children pulled me in early on. Within the first chapters, Mark's well-paced plot had me experiencing every footstep with him, riveted. By the time their daughter Lyric's perspective engulfed me, the story was whirling by, her innocence eating at my heart, each stride drawing me from one word to the next. Who knew an innocent run through the park could be so startling and gruesome? Fans of thrilling chases and horrifying tales where family and innocence hang in the balance will certainly enjoy On the Lips of Children." ~ Weston Kincade, author of A Life of Death

"Mark Matthews' novel On the Lips of Children is a brutal, intense ride of claustrophobic horror and gritty, page-turning suspense. This is dark fiction at its visceral, chilling best." ~ Jan Kozlowski, author of Die, You Bastard! Die!

"Even the peaceful moments feel dangerous. Always on the border of safety, danger, and death. Readers beware." ~ Jay Wilburn, author of Loose Ends

"What would you do for your family? Anything, of course. Blood is thicker than water, after all--and sweeter, too. On the Lips of Children is a gritty, sadomasochistic tale of misguided loyalty and dysfunctional kin--innocence morphed into desperate beasts that are hypnotized by the stars at night and the glint of steel as it parts quivering flesh." ~ Richard Thomas, author of Staring Into the Abyss