Little Emmett: A Novel

by Abe Moss

A dark, dystopian horror tale about one little boy's struggle for survival in a world unprepared for the true power he possesses.

★★★★★ "As always, another excellent slow-burning page turner from Mr. Moss. Darkness looms on every page and mystery calls from the depths of its unread chapters. If you're not reading Abe Moss... you should be." - Amazon Reviewer

"They're going to tell you we're crazy..."

...Emmett's mother says as their little rusted car struggles to climb the mountainside. She's taking him somewhere safe. In the forest ahead lies a house full of children like him--children whose parents have been diagnosed like her. Mentally ill.

The Cradle--a government organization hellbent on eradicating the condition--believe they have the ultimate solution. Entire families ripped apart and placed in asylums. Total removal from the gene pool, they say. For the future of humanity...

Now Emmett can't decide what's more his new home where he'll supposedly be safe from The Cradle and its horrific reputation...

...or the ideas in his mother's head which led them there in the first place.

What readers have to say about Abe Moss and his horror

"The story is skillfully told and I was caught up in the story from the very beginning. Keep on writing, Abe Moss. I will keep reading. Thank you for your work." ★★★★★

"I would recommend this book to all fans of horror novels . A very fast paced entertaining story! I plan on reading more by this author." ★★★★★

"Great story with unique thoughtful characters. So Disturbing. Great imagery. It doesn't lead anywhere you would expect but so worth it. Loved it." ★★★★★

"Do yourself a favor & read every book by Abe Moss that you can get your hands on. You won't be sorry." ★★★★★

"Old school horror at its best, and I mean that as a compliment. Great book!!!" ★★★★★

"If you're on the hunt for a solid horror novel with realistic, drawing characters...look no further!!!" ★★★★★

"This book grabbed me from the beginning, and never let go! I read it with only one break, and that was to sleep for six hours. This is horror at it's finest, and I can't recommend it enough. I intend to read more from Abe Moss!" ★★★★★

"I could not put this down! The more I read, the more intense it became. This should be a movie! The stuff beyond nightmares!" ★★★★★

"This was one of the best books I've read in a long time! Every time I put it down I couldn't wait to get back to it." ★★★★★

"Abe Moss is such an awesome writer of horror. His books scare the you-know-what out of me but I love this type of scare. This book definitely did not disappoint!" ★★★★★

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2019

About the author

Abe Moss has been writing horror stories for as long as he can remember, and hopes to never stop. He loves creature-features, psychological horror, supernatural horror, cosmic horror, you name it. With each book he writes, he hopes to try something a little different. The possibilities are endless and that's what he really loves about storytelling. He hopes you'll enjoy his stories, too!

Reviews

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometime in the distant future, people with mental illnesses are rounded up and place in asylums for the public's protection. Even their children and family members are taken to asylums just in case they become mentally ill. Emmett's mother as been marked to be detained. In her desperation, she finds a safe house to hide her son from the government. Emmett is housed with other children that are being hidden. Of course, things go south, and the kids have to run away. They are caught by the police and sent to The Cradle. One of the asylums for children with mentally ill parents. Considered collateral damage, the children are experimented on in hopes to find a cure for mental illness. However, Emmett is not like any other child. The chickens have come home to roost for the world, and change is coming.

I really loved this book. It was scary because I could see this happening in our world today. I fell in love with little Emmett. You couldn't help but to root for him. I highly recommend!

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really scary, horrifying and compelling story that absolutely had me on the edge of my seat! I could not put this book down until the end. I love this author and his ability to write such amazingly horrifying stories. Poor Emmitt. I am hoping for more by this author as always.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off a little slow to me, and it was hard to figure out what the story was actually leading up to a good way through the book. That is why I gave it a 4, and because the book just didn’t grab me and keep my attention at first….The main character is a little boy whose mother gives him away to a home set up by an older woman (I won’t give spoilers and say why or what the home is about). There is a great deal of time spent at first on his day-to-day interactions with the other children there, their squabbles, and drama that starts to take place within the home. There is a lot of a psychological thriller feel to this story, with a little bit of horror mixing in eventually, so you know something is coming; you just don’t know what. I kept feeling like I was on the edge of the horror, but it just wasn’t coming for a good while. When it does, it is original, and it does grip you. The book is rather lengthy, and the reader just needs to be prepared it will take some time for a buildup.

[Bobbi Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this horror story about one little boy struggling to survive. This is a new author for me and I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more. This is a well developed story where the author used writing skills and attention to details to make the story realistic. The characters are connectable and made the story fun and easy to read. This is a story about Emmett. He is trying to figure out if he is really safe at home or if there is something more. This is a great story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this book.

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this for free by signing up with author's newsletter. The review is my own.

Emmett is a seven year old on the run with his mother.
Emmett loves his mother dearly but she is very strange. Since they are running from someone Emmetts' mother needs to hide him someplace safe. Before she leaves him at an orphanage of sorts she gives him her prized possession...a locket.
She claims she will come back for him but he feels he will never see her again.
Emmetts' mother always told him he was special and that together they would reshape the world.
But Emmett knows there's a dark side to his mother and that she might be crazy. And sometimes when he's alone he thinks he hears his name being called. Does Emmett have the same sickness his mother seems to have or is she the truly sane one and its the world thats gone mad?

Great Story and i mentioned Lovecraftian elements because of the dread that is constant in this kid's life and the insanity he goes through. Also something else but you'd have to read it for yourself.

[Jayne Capps · Rating 1 out of 5]

Halfway through this book I had to check reviews to see if it was even worth finishing. All reviews raved about the "Horror, So Scary & edge of their seat", that I decided to go ahead and continue. I should have read the Wikipedia synopsis instead. The first 1/2 is slow, the second 1/2 is more dystopian but still slow. The most horror happens in the last few pages, but is easily guessed after memories are revealed earlier. This book was more of a slog than anything.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am leaving a review because I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This book kept me reading even though it was extremely disturbing and dark. This is not a happy book by any means. There is a lot of violence and abuse towards children and some good people meet a very bad end. The ending could have been explained a bit more and leaves some questions unanswered. Overall, for a dystopian tale that is horrific beyond your imagining, then this is for you.

[NoNo JoJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am voluntarily reviewing this novel after receiving a free copy.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars?

This was a hard one to rate. I enjoyed most of the time I spent with this book, but unfortunately looking at it as a whole, I can't rate it super highly.

There's a lot this book does well. The build-up is there, for sure. I enjoyed our cast of characters. Emmett is precious, and I wanted all the best in the world for him. It was interesting how we're initially set up in this idyllic home hidden away from the world, but slowly watch it unravel, until we're wondering if the maligned Cradle might actually been a better place for these kids to be. And then we /get/ there, and, well....

Unfortunately, I finished the book kinda scratching my head. There's just really not much that...matters? It's hard to explain. The whole book feels like build-up, with some "OMG" spikes in between, but the spikes aren't really related to the trajectory of the narrative, if that makes sense. Like the first super horrible thing that happens (related to a man hanging around the area) is, well, super horrible, but it doesn't feel all that connected to the plot, or deserved in terms of foreshadowing/development. It's just something huge and horrible and scary that happens and forces the narrative to take a turn.

The ending is very similar. Ultimately, everything Emmett has done and experienced doesn't really matter. At the end of it all, he just follows a floaty light/voice, does what it asks, and stuff happens. He doesn't really have any agency of his own, and again, the conclusion is completely unrelated to anything that happened previously. He could have stayed at the house for the whole story, and the ending would have been the same. He could have been literally anywhere doing anything, and as long as he somehow made his way back to that endpoint, everything would have been identical. It just felt like a waste of potential. The Cradle isn't really explained or dealt with. All the creepy stuff at the house ends up swept away by the first shocking swerve mentioned earlier. Those moments are still very flashy and very good (I loved them, tbh, they were the highlights of the book), but they leave the novel feeling completely disjointed.

Overall, definitely a downgrade from the first book of his I read, Ruby Holloway Reads After Dark (still highly recommend). If you're into slowburn horror or just want to chug along for those few moments of horrific brilliance, this might be for you, but if that's not your thing, give it a pass.

[Billie]

“They’re going to tell you we’re crazy…”
…Emmett’s mother says as their little rusted car struggles to climb the mountainside. She’s taking him somewhere safe. In the forest ahead lies a house full of children like him—children whose parents have been diagnosed like her. Mentally ill.
The Cradle—a government organization hellbent on eradicating the condition—believe they have the ultimate solution. Like any other disease, they seek to quarantine it. Entire families ripped apart and placed in asylums. Total removal from the gene pool, they say. For the future of humanity…
Now Emmett can’t decide what’s more frightening: this new home where he’ll supposedly be safe, hidden from The Cradle and its horrific reputation…
…or the ideas in his mother’s head which led them there in the first place.

This is a greatl thriller of a read.
Bit of a rollercoaster as it starts slow but when it gets going you better hold on.
I was gripped and read this in one sitting.
Great plot and story line that will keep you engaged and wondering what next.
Well written characters that have you really wondering about them
Recommend reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Emmett: A Novel

Ok. Wow! I'm not quite sure what I just read. It's interesting, to say the least. It's definitely about mental illness and the stigma that goes with it. A civilization where "they" are trying to erase mental illness from the planet in the worst ways possible. This story is about an 8-year-old boy. His trials and tribulations. It's definitely scary beyond words. A world that I hope to never see. It doesn't seem too ridiculous to be true. That's the easy part. There's magic in this story. The old dark magic. That in itself is scary. The ending is left to the reader to decide. I'm pausing as I'm writing because I'm still engrossed in the ending and trying to decide what to think about it. Great read. Keeps your interest. I'd definitely recommend it if you like a good horror to think about.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Emmett is deep, dark and disturbing on several levels. I have to be honest with you, dear reader, I almost stopped reading it about 40% in. It’s an excellent book but I don’t deal well with abuse, especially if children. I hurt it inside my heart and soul at some of the abuse. But, I wanted to see the outcome and hopefully the retribution that outcome would involve. I’m so glad I did. Even the conclusion nearly scared me into putting it down for a little break. The characters are realistic yet some are extremely flawed. I can see the world Emmett inhabits, which is several hours after I read the ending. I highly recommend it but please note the disturbance you may feel.

Read via Kindle Unlimited

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down

Emmit is only 7 years old, but he's so much smarter. He's full of kindness, caring, and love. His mother told him that he is going to change the world and make it a better place.
Then his mother takes him to a house where she is forced to leave him in order to protect him. She keeps telling him that they are both different and if he's with her when she goes away the people will hurt him.
For a while at the new home everything is fine. He's managed to make some friends and they do everything together. Kids being kids. Then the unimaginable horrors begin! Get ready for a wild ride into the authors mind!!

[One · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not what i thought it would be about. And half way through it is Definitely still not what your thinking it would be. The shock & aw moment is the last 10% of the book. It does give you hints here and there but i did not expect things to happen like they did and the ending is so hard to really explain. The whole story is hard to explain, like i wondered if the reason the kids were hidden was based off of some real world fact. Then the music starts and I had no idea what was even happening. Like 85% of the book your waiting for something to happen. And when it does its not what you saw coming.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 3 out of 5]

The horror in this novel combining Horror, Cosmic Horror, Fantasy, and Dystopiana I found particularly stomach-churning, as not only is it gruesome but much of it is inflicted upon children: Mentally, emotionally, psychologically, via "therapy" and medication, and physical trauma. At the same time, although I was intermittently struck by particularly imaginative imagery, I didn't find the plot sufficiently strong to bear up under the weight of the near-constant Horror and the characters' unending hopelessness.

[Joan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank You Abe Moss for the Pdf for my review.

This was my First Read of this author and I went in cold 🥶. The story follows a young boy on a small part of his life's journey. The action is at a steady pace not really fast however not slow either. The twist at the end brought this 4 star rating to a five star rating cause I did not see it coming.

Is it truly all in Emmett's mother's head or is something Deeper Going on. Read this novel to find out.

Speculative Fiction
New Adult NA / YA
Graphic Novel Language/ Violence

Triggers probably

[Kay Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uniquely Twisted

This is my first book by this author. The cover grabbed my initial attention and the suspenseful and mysterious prologue snagged me. With so many questions--what is with his mom, where is he, who is he, how is he going to handle all this--I dove right in to the story and barely came up for air as I turned page after page unable to get enough. Well-written, well-crafted.

[Lolapaige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not something I would normally enjoy but I read this on a whim and came out pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the fact that the story kept me engaged and interested without going too far over the top. The characters were well developed and even though I guessed at Emmett's origins I was still excited to see where the story went.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suggest getting comfy before you start this book. It does start off a tad bit on the slow side, but it does pick up and you shall be glad you stuck with it when it does. The further I got into the story the faster I wanted to read. It’s an intriguing plot and it’s very well written.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of scary

Hints of supernatural, but what's scary is the- being in a position of NO CONTROL over what happens to you & people of "authority" telling you what's "good for you" & forcing medications on you. That's scary because it could happen to anybody! The ending was VERY unexpected! Well done! I enjoyed this book & would definitely recommend.

[Elaine and Tess the Springer. I won’t be on GR for a bit. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book. It pulled me right in and I couldn't get back out till the last page. It was constant, every page had to be read, no power reading like I usually do. An amazing story. Just trundling along enjoying reading about Emmett, a lovely wee boy having a hard time and then everything changes. I really recommend this book it's not all hoky poky.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was extremely lucky to stumble on this book! It keeps you turning the page, needing to know what will happen. The story is so well written, I was sad when it ended. I wanted to know what was in store for Little Emmett in the future. This is the first of many books by Abe Moss I'll be reading! Do yourself a favor and grab a copy. It's worth it!

[Heather Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story interesting and well written. The characters for the book are also well written. Abe Moss is a good author and I would recommend reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lola Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing, Heartbreaking, and downright CRAZY.

As always, another excellent slow-burning page turner from Mr. Moss. Darkness looms on every page and mystery calls from the depths of its unread chapters. If you're not reading Abe Moss... you should be.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Story

I went along for the ride, having no clue where I was going, but enjoying the trip. The ending was joyful and unexpected. I loved and hated the characters. The locations were so realistic I felt as if I were there. Another great book by Abe Moss.

[Pat Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, enjoyable read

I really enjoyed reading this. I loved Emmett's character and the flow of the story. It isn't a mystery or thriller, but has something that keeps you wanting to know what comes next. Looking forward to reading his next book.

[Joell Swope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting. It was creepy and strange and funny and kept me wanting to keep reading it. Loved all the characters and how the story was told. The last couple of chapters had me on the edge of my seat. Will be reading more from this author for sure

[Lauren Gentges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psychologically thrilling

A fantastic read. It takes you on an adventure you could never guess. Great characters that you fall in love with. Definitely recommend it.

[Valerie Lee Spizzirri · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!

This one kept me guessing to the end. Abe Moss is an excellent story teller. I look forward to everything you write in the future.

[Teena Renken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story!

I was immediately drawn into the storyline. Worrying for little Emmet. Very creepy story At limes poetic, I know I plan to read everything written by Abe Moss!

[Jennifer Berardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazytown!

Read this book. Right now. You won’t be able to put it down. It goes in a direction you’ll never guess!