Dan Chaon Books in Order

People approaching adulthood confront the distance between youthful hopes and the lives they have actually built. These stories follow characters seeking acceptance and connection amid failed relationships, fractured families, unsatisfying work and uncertainty about who they want to become.

Twelve stories explore people unsettled by disappearance, loss and the fragility of family ties. A widow seeks protection, a boy imagines an older version of himself nearby, and ordinary lives become entangled with mysteries their occupants cannot easily explain.

A child's disappearance, a boy's mauling, a teenage pregnancy, and a young man's drift toward drug dealing unfold across decades. Their hidden connections shape a Midwestern story about identity, family, and the lives people struggle to change.

Miles searches for his missing twin, Lucy runs away with her former teacher, and Ryan abandons his familiar life after disturbing news. Their paths intersect amid invented identities and uncertainty about who can be trusted.

Grief, loneliness and unsettling memories intrude on ordinary lives in twelve stories. Parents, widowers and abandoned children confront disturbances that blur psychological dread with the inexplicable, searching for connection while the familiar world around them becomes increasingly difficult to trust.

A father and his son live in a world where the dead keep returning. As defenses fail and authorities enforce harsh survival rules, the father’s lingering compassion challenges the boundaries between protecting his child and preserving what makes them human.

Peter and Mr. Breeze travel through a ruined America seeking refuge. Turned away from a protected city, they return to roads haunted by predators and abandoned towns, while Peter struggles to retain childhood memories amid the violence surrounding him.

Psychologist Dustin Tillman faces his adopted brother's release after a family murder conviction is overturned. Meanwhile, a patient's theories about drowned students draw Dustin into another investigation, destabilizing his memories and endangering the family he has built.

Orphaned Tyler watches over his sister Shannon, concerned about her risky fixations. When she develops an intense attraction to an unusual stranger, he follows her, discovering that her desires may involve something far beyond an ordinary crush.

Off-grid courier Will Bear travels America doing dangerous jobs for employers he barely questions. A caller claiming to be his biological daughter asks for help, drawing him into a conspiracy that blurs the line between allies and pursuers.

In 1915, orphaned twins Bolt and Eleanor flee a violent uncle and join a traveling carnival. Finding refuge among its unusual performers strains their closeness, while their pursuer’s return threatens the new family they have begun to call home.