Decomposition Book

A Novel

By: Sara van Os

Ava thought the great tragedy of her life would be getting stuck in a dead-end office job, but reality looks even grimmer when she goes on an ill-fated hike with two of her co-workers.

Meanwhile, spiralling after a disastrous falling-out with her mercurial best friend, Savannah retreats to her parents' empty lake house in upstate New York. Her days blur into a hazy swirl of clinically concerning overthinking and alcohol – until she chases her nightly bottle of wine with an Ambien and wakes in the woods behind her house next to a dead body.

Unfortunately, Savannah is so down bad that this well-preserved corpse offers some compelling friend potential; after all, a dead person can't judge you, they're great listeners and they're not going to leave.

Ava, it turns out, is more than just a cold, lonely corpse. She was funny. She was smart. And Savannah has finally found someone she can talk to.

Is Savannah finally losing her grip – or has she found what she's needed all along?

©2026 Sara van Os (P)2026 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

'Intense, irreverent, surprising, raw.' (Natalia Theodoridou, author of Sour Cherry)

'Raw and heartrending, Decomposition Book will seduce you with its tender yet terrifying love story.' (Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng)