Father of Lies

Is the devil in Eldon Fochs? Is he a sexual psychopath? Or is the church protecting him to blame?

Provost Eldon Fochs may be a sexual criminal. His therapist isn’t sure, and his church is determined to protect its reputation. Father of Lies is Brian Evenson’s fable of power, paranoia, and the dangers of blind obedience, and a terrifying vision of how far institutions will go to protect themselves against the innocents who may be their victims.

Publication date: February 9, 2016

Format: Trade Paper

Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25

Page count: 216 pages

ISBN: 9781566894159

Praised by Peter Straub for going “furthest out on the sheerest, least sheltered narrative precipice,” Brian Evenson is the recipient of three O. Henry Prizes and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the winner of the International Horror Guild Award and the American Library Association’s award for Best Horror Novel, and his work has been named in Time Out New York’s top books.

“Evenson’s literary genius lay in his ability to spread reasonable doubt and blur lines of inquiry.” 

—New York Journal of Books

“Father of Lies stands out among Evenson’s work as the most institutionally critical, morally unsettling.” 

—VICE

“[Father of Lies is] packed with the kind of psychological tension that creates classics and a critique of organized religion that’s too loud, clear, and sharp to ignore.” 

—Horror Talk

“[Evenson’s] scary fictional treatment of church hypocrisy has the feeling of a reasoned attack on blind religious obedience.” 

—Publishers Weekly