Cold Empty Rooms

by Andy Marino

From the dark imagination of underground horror sensation Andy Marino comes a haunted house story like you've never read before...

"Marino's work is unlike any others in the genre – horrifying, complex, fascinating, and utterly unique." – Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author

Deep in the woods, on the side of a mountain, there sits an old, sprawling manor. Only those who truly need it will find it.

Mara and Soren are the latest residents. The two are broke, deeply in love, and desperate for a home.

But something is wrong with the house. Soren begins to receive messages from a nameless entity that he has dubbed The Great Other. The first direction is simple: Invite more to this home. The second: Relieve them of their sorrow.

Mara, too, hears this otherworldly voice. She has been running from her past for a long time. The Great Other offers her the solace she seeks, if she has the courage to walk the home’s shadowed halls.

Soon more wanderers begin to arrive: a collection of outcasts, drawn in by Soren’s magnetic ideology.

Within the shifting walls of this ancient house, something darkly miraculous is unfolding.

Wounds have been suffered in this place. Wounds that are. Wounds that will be.

Genres: Horror, Adult, Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

Expected publication November 10, 2026

About the author

Andy Marino was born in upstate New York, spent half his life in New York City, and now lives in the Hudson Valley. He is the author of seven novels for young readers, most recently THE PLOT TO KILL HITLER trilogy.

THE SEVEN VISITATIONS OF SYDNEY BURGESS is his first novel for adults.

Reviews

[Keith Rosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God, read this book. An absolute marvel of horror fiction, and the greatest haunted house story I've ever read in my life. And from a sentence-by-sentence standpoint, Marino's work is so dazzling and dread-inducing, the rest of us are just trying to catch up. A masterpiece, seriously.

[Conni Guffey · Rating 3 out of 5]

To say this book was a slow burn would be a vast understatement.

It was, at best, difficult.
The writing is very good, the characters are well-fleshed, and the pacing moves.

I don't have to like all the characters in order to like a story, but it's best to like a few of them, and I can't say that I liked even one of these. (Possibly the cat because she just wandered into the room and wandered back out without saying much.)

Cosmic.
Difficult to follow in some places.
I found myself not enjoying being in the minds of most of these characters, and that's where the brunt of the story lands us.

The nicest thing I can say is that this is how a cult leader is born and made and his slow descent was a story in itself. Perhaps not the author's intention, but how it read to my mind. It was a deep, murky soup of how a man reacts when he feels he's being lead by something bigger than himself, and the people who follow him, sometimes unwillingly, but follow just the same.

Honestly, my expectations weren't met. I expected more of a haunted house book, when I actually found myself in the mind of a haunted individual. Dark, in every sense of the word.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books/Run For It for allowing me to read before the publication date.

[Samantha (Reading_Against_Noise) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially I was perplexed why this book has such a low rating. The set up is a bit dark as it focuses on running from something horrible and we basically read about these characters' plans of the creation of a cult. I liked the first 30%, but then the show “Friends” gets mentioned. The story turns from being a little dark, to a little weird, then it got to be a bit ridiculous. It didn’t add anything and I didn’t understand why I needed to know this because it added nothing to the story. On top of it, the characters yearning for one another was always just randomly thrown in when they were talking about something else and it just seemed odd. It wasn’t sexy and I didn’t feel the tension between them. The ending, while well done, didn’t land the way I think was intended. Clearly, I just was not the right reader for this but if you are looking for something cultish, supernatural, and a weird obsession with the show Friends, this may be for you.

[Christy · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Cold Empty Rooms by Andy Marino | Spoiler-Free Review

This is one of those books where you think you’re getting a haunted house story, but there’s a whole lot more going on.

We follow Mara and Soren, a couple who are struggling emotionally and end up living in this strange old house tucked away. It seems like an opportunity for a fresh start, but things get weird pretty quickly.

Soren starts communicating with something he calls The Great Other, and what begins as this idea of creating a home for people who don’t really fit anywhere else starts turning into something much more unsettling. Meanwhile, Mara is dealing with her own past, and the house seems to know exactly what she’s struggling with.

What makes this story interesting is that it’s not just about a creepy house. There’s a lot happening with grief, belief, manipulation, and how easily people can get pulled into something when they’re desperate to feel accepted or find some kind of peace.

Soren is particularly interesting because you start questioning his motivations and how much influence this mysterious presence actually has over him. Mara brings a different perspective, especially as things become increasingly strange.

This is definitely more of a slow-burn, psychological and supernatural horror story. It’s weird, atmospheric, and at times pretty uncomfortable. Marino doesn’t necessarily give you a straightforward haunted house experience, and I think that’s something readers should know going into it.

If you enjoy horror that gets into people’s heads, explores some darker human emotions, and leaves you questioning what’s actually happening, this might be worth picking up.

Just don’t go into it expecting your typical ghost story. That makes this story even more worth the purchase.


Thank you NetGalley and Run For It (Orbit), for the advance copy to read and enjoy!

Christy of TattedHatGirlReads

[Ali Toothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Empty Rooms is a fever dream of a book. The descriptions were as gorgeous as they were unsettling. It had me looking a bit closer at the shadows in the corners of my house.

Mark my words, this book is going to take the horror world by storm.

[Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Hachette/run for it and NetGalley for a copy of the eArc for my honest review!

Wow wow wow so not the book for me. The writing is pretentious and it is so overwritten I have a hard time even getting my bearings before another sentence hits me with more adjectives than I could ever need. It reads like trying to meet an arbitrary word count. Also my bad for requesting a book about hippy dippy types, as those types of people are quite literally the bane of my existence and I could barely stand another second being in Mara or Sorens head. The POV does switch but to the part I made it to (about 35%) it was only Mara and Soren.

I do know this book absolutely has an audience, some people really love pretentious writing and characters like this, if that sounds like your cup of tea this will probably be 5 stars for you. However, for me it was an unfortunate miss. I am somehow interested in the authors other work to see if it is similar or if he is trying a new style here with this book.

You will get a feel for the writing almost instantly so at the very least give it a good college try!

[Nyssa (Read & Reasoned) · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

Cold Empty Rooms is a different take on the traditional haunted house story, including several and fresh elements. Readers of the genre who want something a bit different will like this book. The setup of the house, the description of the first few things that seem "off", the narrative style worked for me, but I'm also a reader who enjoys a true slow burn.

The book had more psychological horror elements than I expected, removing it from a more canonical positioning of the book as "just a haunted house story". I liked this element, as someone who enjoys stories that take some risks, do things a little differently. What didn't resonate so well with me were the characters. I do think Marino was successful in painting Soren and Mara as flawed, mostly unlikeable people. In fact, I was surprised that these two liked each other at all. The chemistry was missing for me, the leads seem more lost than anything, but this might be Marino's way of pointing back to the cultish premise and the types of humans who gravitate to the lifestyle.

Overall, I enjoyed the slow-burn approach, and enjoyed how Marino clearly built up the sense of dread from the start. I can see what he was trying to do with this cast of characters, they just didn't hook me as much as I wanted them too.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went in blind based on recs from 2 of my favorite horror authors. And I mean blind because beyond some vague impression of it being a ‘haunted house book’ that’s all I knew.

It starts with Mara and Soren getting to a decrepit cabin where they’re I guess starting some kind of commune in the woods? Like, they invite anyone to join them, people start showing up, it’s not a religion or a cult exactly but kind of… IDK things are dirty and weird.

The subgenre is Vague Horror. Where unsettling things happen and it kind of just rambles on and on but then there are some cool scenes (like scenes from truly bonkers, horrific versions of FRIENDS and FRASIER - like, seriously, worth reading just for that) but it just feels all drugged-out and dirty and weird more than anything actually happening.

The last 20% though? Fucking great. It’s definitely a ‘me issue’ that prevents this from being a great book. I’m an idiot who likes propulsive, spoon-fed horror. The last part of the book is 5 stars though.

[Teri Moore Stover · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

What I liked most about Cold Empty Rooms was the atmosphere. The isolated manor, the mysterious presence known as The Great Other, and the constant feeling that something was deeply wrong created a genuinely unsettling backdrop for the story. I was also intrigued by the way grief, loneliness, and the desire to belong influenced the characters' choices as more people were drawn into the house. 
That said, this was one of those books where I admired the ideas a little more than I connected with the execution. The slow-building horror and increasingly cult-like dynamics were interesting, but at times the pacing felt uneven for me. Even so, the creepy atmosphere and unique approach to the haunted house genre kept me reading. While it didn't fully land as a favorite, it was still an imaginative and memorable horror novel.

[Lindsay · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Billed as unlike anything you've ever read before, I am inclined to agree, for better or for worse. Marino's writing style is incredibly distinct, his prose is at times meandering and descriptive to the point where it is difficult to find footing. Therein lies some of the horror of the novel; this is both effective and frustrating. The relationship between Mara and Soren is rich, like watching a folie à deux unfolding. For all of the time with Mara, I actually found Soren to be intriguing and worthy of our attention, if even just to feel like I could "figure him out". As a reader, I tend to struggle with large castes of characters and this did make the novel challenging as more wanderers came to the house. For a patient reader who enjoys a character driven story, this is a feast. Thanks for NetGalley and Orbit/Run For It for the chance to share my honest opinions!

[Alanna Metz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC to review.

The writing was very well done, characters fleshed out and interesting. This book just simply did not find its audience with me. I expected it to be more of a haunted house book, but it was more along the lines of the movie Midsommar (which I admittedly did not care for). If you like cult horror books, you should definitely give this one a go! This would easily be a five star read to the right reader, but that was not me. It was a bit of a slow burn, and the ending was surprising. Good character development paired with a slow burn plot made the ending feel even more shocking.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, this has to be one of the weirdest books I’ve read. The writing is great and it held my attention.
Soren and Mara are the main characters and they set out to start some kind of commune in an old house. Weird things begin to happen when people start answering the flyers to stay. There are some interesting scenes in the book and it kept my attention, however it did seem to ramble on a bit. I will say the last 20% or so of the book were the best part! Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books US for the ARC.

[AgoraphoBook Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Marino
Cold Empty Rooms 
 
Publication Date: November 10


Ok, so...

A haunted house story that unfolds like a Darren Aronofsky film, steeped in the poetry of an Ani DiFranco song. 

A creepy, unique, extremely dark, and uncomfortably raw and visceral horror novel. It drips in atmosphere with a dread that just ratchets up and up...

I loved everything about it.
5 Stars. No notes. 


(Full Review on Publication Date)

**Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Andy Marino for this advanced digital copy of the novel in exchange for honest and unbiased feedback.

[Jill Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one to review. I found the setup and first part of the story intriguing. Soren and Mara growing their cast of characters by a flyer welcoming to stay in the mysterious, creepy house. I found Soren’s progression to a cult leader very interesting. Unfortunately the book seemed to meander a bit too much and was very hard to follow. The scattered writing style made it difficult for me to immerse myself and I began to feel frustrated with the story. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just wanna say thanks for giving the chance to read an arc version of cold empty rooms. It is not at all like I thought the book was gonna be about. Thursday was hard for me to get into the book. It had great characters. I feel like soren is kind of like a cult leader that preys on these other housemates. I Feel like Mara is starting to see.Things are not what they seem she just wants her son. And then I was kind of grossed out when soren licked the girls cold sore on her mouth. I Really did not like the way the book ended.

[Jen 🌙 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really disappointing. I read the description and saw the cover, assuming it was going to be a fun creepy house story. I tend to eat those up like candy, but I just couldn’t get into this. I did finish, but I couldn’t connect to the characters and I didn’t think it did anything that i haven’t seen before. It felt extremely over written and so slow paced this book was chore to get through.

**thank you netgalley and orbit for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Jaime Nizzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

2 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately I don’t think this was the book for me. I really wanted to like this book but I felt like I couldn’t quite keep up with what was going on.
For me I felt like it was almost too descriptive that I was confused what was real and what wasn’t.

Without giving anything away I did like Mara’s story at the end about her husband. I think if I had a little more of her storyline and maybe what went on there I would have been more invested in what was going on.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what to say…

I really struggled with this book to get into it, to “feel” it, and to keep going. Maybe it was partially because I had a lot going on while trying to read it, but while the words were very descriptive to help visualize what was going on, I just couldn’t jive with it. The ending felt odd, but it fits with the rest of the book. I guess “weird” is the best way to describe this book.

Possible spoilers: it vividly discusses sexual acts, alternate views on religion, and murder/death. Not recommended for people under 18.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads for the giveaway prize of this book!

The story is like a fever dream of visceral weirdness. I really like the writing and the way I was able to feel feelings with the characters. I didn’t completely get the ending, like about the last 20 pages…maybe Mara’s in Hell? Not sure, but overall it’s a very imaginative story.

[Stephanie Hickman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for this ARC. I DNF'd this title 11 percent in to the story. I do not like his writing style at all. I also DNF'd one of his other titles. Andy Marino is not for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try anyway.

[Denise King (Grandma Reads Scary Things) · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for this ARC digital copy!

Hmmm…I am struggling with this one because I think this author writes very well, but I did not love this book. If I could separate the two, author 4.5 stars; book 2 stars.
I will admit this could be a me problem, I was literally confused through most of the book and not in a good way. It took me much longer than normal to finish this story, but not because it was thought provoking, I just actually did not care to pick it up, it took too much energy to process. I would try this author again hoping that it was just the story that did not work for me.

Soren and Mara inherited a home and immediately set about building o collection of “misfits” to join them within its walls. But these walls contain something that they do not have the power to control. As their lives begin to merge, Soren’s ego and narcissism begins to take over. And his housemates various traumas begin to surface. Something ancient and beyond human comprehension is driving to a dark and horrific conclusion.