What Comes Before

By: Molly Macabre

Narrated by: Lauren Campbell

Tess just wants a quiet weekend away, a break from the chaos of her job and the constant noise of other people’s expectations. A remote cabin in the woods sounds perfect.

But peace is the last thing she finds.

When she stumbles into Aiden, a man who seems just as lost as she is, they try to navigate their way out together. But the forest has no intention of letting them go.

Beneath the trees lies something twisted, a presence with the mind of a child and the cruelty of something far older. Tess and Aiden aren’t just lost.

They’ve become pawns in a sinister game.

Death is mercy.

The fray is what comes before.

©2025 Molly Macabre (P)2025 Molly Macabre

Don't play cards in a cabin

A nice little psychological suspense/thriller with a hint of mystery behind the odd occurrences around a cabin.

A short, suspenseful ride!

Molly Macabre’s “What Comes Before” is a quick, thrilling story layered with atmosphere and surrealism. Listening to the audiobook, I truly felt like I was lost in the woods, and found myself guessing what would come next! The ending was a great twist as well. Although I wished the story had been slightly longer, that’s perhaps a testament to how much I was enjoying the experience! A great piece overall from a promising indie author! Thank you again, Molly, for the free audiobook!

Haunting tale with a chilling twist!

Wow. Molly Macabre does it again. What Comes Before captures you from the start, throwing you into the thick of this horror story. I immediately felt concern for Tess, while wondering what lay ahead for her. What came...even I felt sorry for Tess, for what the author put her through.

Even in the short time Tess spent with Aiden, Molly did a great job in developing a character relationship between them. Of course, there's also the cabin and forest, who seem to have lives of their own. Visual descriptions are superb, as I closed my eyes and imagined exactly what was happening every step of the way.

Lauren Campbell helps bring this horrific tale to life with her stunning voice and dialogues. The small giggles when Tess speaks, the soft whispers when there's danger, the hint of fear in the characters' voices are all magnificently conveyed. It left me listening to the entire story gripped in wonder and concern, drawing me to a thrilling end and a twist I didn't see coming.

Also, I had to smile at some of the Dark Veil Society Easter eggs along the way. I won't spoil it, but loved hearing Sacred Valley mentioned among them.

Well done, Molly! A truly enchanting tale I definitely want to listen to again.

I wanted to help them…

I found myself wanting to help the characters, being increasingly concerned about the dark game being performed against them, to the point that I wanted out of the world the author built! Staying attached to the end is worth every single minute.

Suspenseful

This is great book. I don’t know if I want to go in a forest anymore.