Temple Woods

by Aly Noble

In the summer of 1979, Kyle Richards disappeared without a trace in Temple Woods State Park just outside of suburban Folie, Massachusetts. Two years later, he is found alive. His friends—Donna, Gwen, Nicole, and Curt—by all accounts, couldn’t be happier. High school is hard enough as is, and now maybe their little clique of mismatched preps and punks can return to some version of “normal.” No one should be more relieved than Kyle’s twin brother, Robbie. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Robbie is tormented by the living reflection of his own face who, for the first time in their lives, feels like a stranger. And as much as they’d love to, the rest of the group can’t say without a shadow of a doubt that Robbie’s instincts are wrong. The uncertainty of who—or what —Kyle has become in his absence from their lives somehow carries more weight than the unknowns surrounding his loss. And that uncertainty is enough to drive them all back into the same woods that stole Kyle from them in the first place. A haunting tale told from the vantage points and memories of its six teenage witnesses, Temple Woods speaks to the gravity of loss, love, trauma, and where all three of these things coalesce—growing up.

595 pages, Paperback

Published December 29, 2021

About the author

Aly is based in the United States and works full-time as a software quality analyst. When she's not working, she's in a state of hobby-hopping between art, writing, and streaming on Twitch. She has a cat named Mickey and an adoration for film, particularly of the animated variety, as she finds the process fascinating.

Horror used to be the bane of her entertainment existence, but she's since come around to the genre as it's a very emotional, visceral way to explore the psyche and experience trauma through a lens someone may not otherwise experience. In her opinion, the best horror is highly emotional and encourages you to invest in the characters, so you have as much stake in the story as they do. "Make me care, and then I'm all in."

Some of her favorite picks inside and outside the genre are The Haunting of Hill House Netflix adaptation, some of the classics like Halloween and Scream, and a few in the video game category, including Oxenfree, Until Dawn, and both of The Last of Us games.

Following the release of her second horror novel, she's unsure what the future holds in her writing interests. The next release will either be another supernatural thriller like Red Heather and Temple Woods, or will be something vastly different in the fantasy genre. Stay tuned!

Author photo credit to Danielle Doepke Photography.

Reviews

[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

For writing the original draft in a month and then pushing through SSRI brain fog to edit it, I'm proud of myself and happy with how it came out. I have a love/hate relationship with this book as its mom, but I hope you enjoy it. x

This isn't related to Red Heather's story in any way save for being in the same universe and the mention/minor involvement of one character we see in RH as an adult. It's more of an easter egg than anything so these can be read in any order. Thank you for your interest!

[Greg Tippmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another rousing, terrifying story that makes me squint at roots and puddles with far more suspicion than I usually do. And Harrie is the best bean.