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I’ll Quit When I’m Dead

A Novel

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By Luke Smitherd

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$29.00

Price

$38.00 CAD

In this page-turning, provocative horror novel, two desperate souls attempt to turn their lives around, with nightmarish consequences if they fail.

Madison has seen better days. Reeling from a bad breakup, self-soothing with junk food, and totally consumed by her lack of direction, she’s in need of a big reset. When she runs into an old acquaintance at the gym, Madison is shocked by how fit they’ve suddenly become. The cause? An all-female fitness boot camp led by ex-military guru Ellie Fellowes. The course is characterized by grueling reps and minimal contact with the outside world, and when Madison signs up to experience it herself, something doesn’t feel right. The other students keep acting strangely; Ellie seems almost superhuman, and her intense motivational methods are becoming bizarre, even dangerous. But Madison is getting results. How can she stop now?

Musician Johnny Blake has been struggling with a pain pill addiction after a very public, very bad fall. At the encouragement of loved ones, he retreats to a secluded cottage to detox. But Johnny isn’t alone. Something is lurking in the shadows of his new home—a creature unnatural and hungry, one that traps Johnny in a frightening bargain. If Johnny doesn’t stay off his pills and keep his end of the deal, he will be eaten alive.

As Madison and Johnny’s predicaments spiral into the unthinkable, they will have to look within to find the true and terrifying answer to the age-old question: How badly do you want it?

Nerve-shredding and compulsively readable, I’ll Quit When I’m Dead marks Luke Smitherd as a major voice in horror to watch.

  • “Your workout begins with reps of thrilling scenarios before stretching into an unputdownable story. All upon a mat of fantastic writing. Never has self-improvement existed on such pins and needles.”
    Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Incidents Around the House
  • “Smitherd pulls off one hell of a trick with I’ll Quit When I’m Dead, a uniquely compelling, propulsive thriller and an eerily unsettling horror novel all rolled into one. Highly recommended!”
    Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Birds and Road of Bones

On Sale
Oct 14, 2025
Page Count
384 pages
Publisher
Mulholland Books
ISBN-13
9780316579568

Luke Smitherd

About the Author

Luke Smitherd is the author of the The Stone Man (shortlisted for Audible Book of the Year 2015) and its sequels. A former singer and guitarist, he now writes full time for a living and divides his time between Los Angeles and Coventry, England. 

Learn more about this author