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Beyond the Gates: A Novel
London, 1887.
When illness lands Abby Smith inside Eden Hills Asylum, she quickly learns the this is not a place of healing. It is a rotting fortress where screams echo through the halls—and patients are never truly released.
Presiding over it all is Dr. Gehring, a brilliant physician whose pursuit of science knows no mercy. Beneath his careful manners lies a hunger to carve deeper—into flesh, into minds, into the boundaries between life and death.
Brilliant and fragile, Abby draws his attention—and becomes his most dangerous obsession.
As Eden Hills awakens with restless spirits and whispered memories of the dead, Abby must confront a horrifying escape the asylum before it consumes her… or surrender to the transformation Gehring has planned.
Beyond the Gates is a dark, gothic descent into madness, where innocence is dissected, sanity is a liability, and evil wears a very human face.
When illness lands Abby Smith inside Eden Hills Asylum, she quickly learns the this is not a place of healing. It is a rotting fortress where screams echo through the halls—and patients are never truly released.
Presiding over it all is Dr. Gehring, a brilliant physician whose pursuit of science knows no mercy. Beneath his careful manners lies a hunger to carve deeper—into flesh, into minds, into the boundaries between life and death.
Brilliant and fragile, Abby draws his attention—and becomes his most dangerous obsession.
As Eden Hills awakens with restless spirits and whispered memories of the dead, Abby must confront a horrifying escape the asylum before it consumes her… or surrender to the transformation Gehring has planned.
Beyond the Gates is a dark, gothic descent into madness, where innocence is dissected, sanity is a liability, and evil wears a very human face.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Del Suede
2 books15 followersTales of the Truly Unbelievable - only for subscribers to my newsletter Suede's Happenings. Sign up today, get my free short story 9 lives, and have a few laughs as we traverse the landscape known as life. https://subscribepage.io/2KeVWP
Author of Beyond the Gates, a gothic horror novel best read by candlelight, ideally in a crumbling estate with questionable plumbing, and No Place For Evil, a supernatural thriller that opens doors better left closed.
When I’m not resurrecting the dead or disturbing the peaceful, I write stories that smell like mildew and dread (and occasionally something just goofy as all get out).
Join me where the shadows linger — and the endings aren't always happy.
Author of Beyond the Gates, a gothic horror novel best read by candlelight, ideally in a crumbling estate with questionable plumbing, and No Place For Evil, a supernatural thriller that opens doors better left closed.
When I’m not resurrecting the dead or disturbing the peaceful, I write stories that smell like mildew and dread (and occasionally something just goofy as all get out).
Join me where the shadows linger — and the endings aren't always happy.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2025
3☆
Well...this was interesting. It had a bit of everything in it; body disfigurement, brain disfigurement, murder, gore, ghosts, deformed infant, murders and Jack the Ripper!
Well...this was interesting. It had a bit of everything in it; body disfigurement, brain disfigurement, murder, gore, ghosts, deformed infant, murders and Jack the Ripper!
September 19, 2025
Debb
5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!
Dark, bordering on "this could happen" excellent read that will keep you up well into the night. Can't wait for more by this author.
5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!
Dark, bordering on "this could happen" excellent read that will keep you up well into the night. Can't wait for more by this author.
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May 19, 2025After finishing Beyond the Gates, I was left in a kind of stunned silence. Del Suede doesn’t just write a story, he pulls you into a fully realized, terrifying world and dares you to survive it. The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the historical detail is so vivid, you can practically feel the fog of Victorian London closing in around you. But what makes this book truly unforgettable is the emotional weight behind the horror.
Abby’s story is heartbreaking and brave, and watching her endure and adapt inside the monstrous walls of Eden Hills Asylum hit me harder than I expected. The cruelty of Dr. Gehring is chilling, but it’s the quiet moments of resistance, of hope flickering in darkness, that truly stayed with me. If you’re searching for a book that’s intelligently written, emotionally impactful, and utterly gripping, this is it. Beyond the Gates is not just a thriller; it’s a reckoning.
Abby’s story is heartbreaking and brave, and watching her endure and adapt inside the monstrous walls of Eden Hills Asylum hit me harder than I expected. The cruelty of Dr. Gehring is chilling, but it’s the quiet moments of resistance, of hope flickering in darkness, that truly stayed with me. If you’re searching for a book that’s intelligently written, emotionally impactful, and utterly gripping, this is it. Beyond the Gates is not just a thriller; it’s a reckoning.
May 23, 2025
Del Suede writes a strong storyline and characters that worked in this time-period and genre. I was engaged from the first page and thought the overall feel worked with what I was expecting. The characters had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall package.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 30, 2025
Creepy, intense, and beautifully written. Beyond the Gates pulls you into a haunting world where nothing is safe not even your sanity. Abby’s story is chilling and unforgettable. A must read for fans of dark psychological horror.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews