Send The Dead: A Novella and Four Stories

by Richard Dooling

She Can't Call the Police, so She Summons the Dead and the Horrors of the Occult

Marina January makes a living guiding tourists through the haunted ruins of St. John's sugar plantations. She's undocumented, paid under the table to keep history alive, while dodging the ICE goons and collecting enough tips to hire an immigration lawyer.

When a famous director recruits her as a consultant for his new historical film, it feels like a lifeline—especially when the film’s magnetic star, Gabriel Nash, takes an interest in her. But Marina soon discovers Nash is dangerous, as well as charming. His obsessions nearly destroy her, until she fights back using her profound knowledge of Caribbean history, its lore, and the malevolence of the occult.

In Send the Dead, New York Times bestselling author Richard Dooling delivers a chilling blend of literary horror, Hollywood glamour, Caribbean history, and supernatural vengeance—accompanied by four other eerie tales first published in The New Yorker, Story, Smoke

, and Esquire.

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2025

About the author

Author Richard Dooling’s first novel, Critical Care, was made into a film directed by the great Sidney Lumet, starring James Spader and Helen Mirren. His second novel, White Man’s Grave, was a finalist for the 1994 National Book Award. His third novel, Brain Storm, and his fourth novel, Bet Your Life, were both New York Times Notable Books Of The Year.

In 2003-2004, Richard Dooling co-wrote and helped produce Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital for ABC. Under the pen name Eleanor Druse, a mystic and savant in residence at Kingdom Hospital, Richard Dooling also wrote The Journals of Eleanor Druse, a New York Times bestseller.

Richard Dooling was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended college and law school at Saint Louis University and worked for a few years as a registered respiratory therapist in Omaha and St. Louis.

He practiced law at Bryan Cave LLP in St. Louis for four years.

Richard Dooling lives with his wife, Kristy, in Montana.

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Reviews

[Haly Hoards Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5☆
Overall rating. Each story in the collection rated.
3.0☆ Send in the Dead
The novella is not in the least scary or "literary horror" as the book description implies. It has a few miniscule moments of occult practices but the "horror" is how Marina is objectified by Gabriel Nash and raped by Horn. The history of the St. John Slave Rebellion is very interesting, and I did learn quite a bit. But, it takes more than half of the story to tell.

2.0☆ Bush Pigs
A short about how being part of, and witness to, tribal war in Africa can affect an American's mind.

2.0☆ Mapping God's Voice
Another story about mental illness.

1.0☆ Paleopsychosis
WTH?!

1.5☆ Diary of an Immoral Man
How future technology and medicine could keep people from aging and death.

I received an advance review copy for free from Goodreads, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was not what I expected and is not the book I thought I was going to enjoy. I am the outlier on this one.

[Faith Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

My skin is still crawling.

This story starts out as a tale of a young woman struggling to legitimise her place in the world. A story of illegal immigration & the way that she both uses the system & has it used against her. Then it takes on the mantle of a fever dream. Overwhelming, beguiling & monstrous, it sweeps all before it.

The incredible strength of the imagery will have you in an unrelenting maelstrom as scenes are played out rapidly, each worse than the last. Marina, more sinned against than sinner, reclaims her power after two men try to strip it from her; each in their own way. Horn through brutality, Gabriel Nash through something far more insidious - a "fellowship".

To say this is creepy is to underplay it to the nth degree. Richard Dooling has created an unstable universe that gets under the skin & lodges there. I've not read his work before but I intend to rectify that oversight immediately. I wonder if he freaks himself out when he conjures up the highly visceral & visual elements of his work! He got to me in this novella more than Stephen King does in a 600 page opus. He proves the adage "less is more". A masterful, controlled use of short form storytelling.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unputdownable novel

“Send the Dead” is a page-turning novel written by Richard Dooling. The plot revolves around Marina, a woman whose job is to guide tourists through the haunted ruins of St. John’s sugar plantation. She’s ok with it but she wishes for another job. Her luck changes when a famous director hires Marina to work with him. At the set, she meets Gabriel Nash, a film star that soon will put Marina’s world upside down. But not everything is pink.
It has a well-crafted plot that will keep readers expecting for more. There's mystery, obsession, suspense and action, every single aspect that I look for in novels. Without a doubt, I invite readers to read it.

[Marina Lujan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The black bird on the turquoise cover caught my attention right away. It matches the dark and mysterious feeling of Send the Dead so well. Once I started reading, I found a story that blends the supernatural with real human emotions. Marina, the main character, felt real and strong to me. She faces tough situations in a world filled with danger and superstition.
I thought it was wonderful how the author managed to combine horror with Caribbean history. Furthermore, the additional stories are equally intense and leave a haunting feeling. It's an original book with a unique protagonist and a particular atmosphere. It received five stars from me. It is truly deserving of them.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredible. It mixes a lot of topics that are so interesting and entertaining that makes it a must read. Something that I loved is that the story is on a Caribbean island and that transport me and made me feel even more connected with the story. This book is about a tourist guide that finds herself in a love story that is really complicated because the man she starts seeing is dangerous and would make her use all her knowledge of the island. Something that I really liked is that this book shows a strong protagonist that prioritizes herself even when she's living every girl's dream of being with a Hollywood star.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, Send The Dead is one of those books that creeps into your mind and sits there long after you've finished the last page. I think what drew me in the most was Marina January as a character, which was really well created. I believe the author did an incredible job capturing her quiet strength while letting the supernatural elements build slowly around her.
I truly think that this is a five-star read with a voice and mood that stand apart from typical horror fiction.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. this was an exciting read that takes you on an ethereal journey. vengeance and history collide in a gruesome but satisfying ending.