Reddit mentions of Cari Mora: A Novel

Have you read many books by Stephen King? There are a few with ghosts or demons, but most are grounded in thinly-veiled (and sometimes thinly-explained) science fiction.

Garmaci already recommended Misery which is excellent. Gerald's Game has a similar feel. Cujo doesn't have anything paranormal, just plain old rabies. The Long Walk and The Running Man are both near-future stories where reality TV has gone too far. Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas without any supernatural elements. They do veer away from horror a bit, though.

King's son, Joe Hill put out a collection of four novellas last year called Strange Weather. Three have supernatural elements (a camera that takes away your memories, a UFO story, and an apocalypse of deadly rain), but one of them, "Loaded," is a realistic look at gun violence and one of the most frightening horror stories I've read in a while.

Pines (+ two sequels) by Blake Crouch, narrated by Paul Michael Garcia, is about a secret service agent investigating a small town where everything seems too good to be true. It feels like a mixture of The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, and Twin Peaks. It starts off feeling like a thriller, veers into horror territory, and then adds in some crazy science fiction elements.

Run, also by Blake Crouch, narrated by Phil Gigante, is rougher around the edges, but it's also darker and grittier. It's about a world where most of the world turns homicidal. It's similar to Bird Box in some ways, though not as nuanced.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Tom Stechschulte is a very bleak story about a father and son traveling across an apocalyptic wasteland. McCarthy's prose is very stream-of-consciousness, and imo works better as an audibook than a standard book. You never really find out what caused the world to end. The story is focused the relationship between the characters and their struggle to survive.

Since you mentioned zombies, check out Mountain Man by Keith C. Blackmore, narrated by R. C. Bray. Its' about a loner who drinks his way through the zombie apocalypse. There is a short story prequel called The Hospital you can download for free.

Dippay already mentioned Jurassic Park. If that's up your alley, you might also check out my book, The Dinosaur Four, narrated by Nick Podehl. It's a time-travel dinosaur thriller about ten everyday strangers in a cafe that gets sent back in time. It's more focused on the relationships between the characters and their attempts to survive and doesn't get into science or philosophy the way JP does.

Finally, consider the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris (who has a new book coming out for the first time in ages!). Nothing supernatural or paranormal there... just psychopathic serial killers.

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Best,

Geoff Jones

Author of The Dinosaur Four

(Narrated by Nick Podehl)