Galloway's Gospel

A Novel

by Sam Rebelein

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Pub Date Sep 16 2025 | Archive Date Nov 11 2025

William Morrow

General Fiction (Adult) | Horror | Mystery & Thrillers

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Description

“Alternately whimsical and horrifying, Rebelein’s newest is a bizarre gem. I don’t want to join any cult he dreams up, but I will be first in line to read about them.” —KIERSTEN WHITE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide

In this shockingly fun wild ride of horrors, Sam Rebelein takes readers back to Renfield County and tells the story of two Rachels—one who mistakenly starts a cult at her local high school and one who tries to dismantle it ten years later.

2009: Rachel Galloway is bored in class. She spends the dreary fall days sketching in her notebook—adorable pigs munching on her boring teachers—and imagining a utopia where all the horrors of Burnskidde High School disappear. But when her classmates start to believe this utopia could be real, Galloway finds herself at the center of an elaborate, and quickly spreading, new religion. Before long, the town is split between believers and nonbelievers. As tensions rise and the rituals become more dangerous, Galloway can’t be sure what’s real and what’s not, or who she can trust.

BURNSKIDDE: CULTWATCH

2019: This is the cryptic message that Renfield County Guard Rachel Durwood receives from her colleague Mark, mere days after he’s disappeared. Mark’s note leads Durwood to the town of Burnskidde, famously sealed off from the rest of the county ten years ago. Now, she discovers a small, insulated community preparing for the rapture and, seemingly, their collective demise. In order to save Burnskidde from itself, she must piece together the fallout from 2009 and avoid being swept up into the monstrous cult herself.

As Rachel Galloway watches her life spiral out of control, Rachel Durwood navigates a world where history, horror, and faith collide. Despite being separated by a decade, Galloway and Durwood may be closer to each other than they realize. But even together, will they be able to stop Burnskidde’s impending doom?

"The novel never forgets to have fun but always keeps its finger on the pulse of the characters’ hearts. A wild, bristling ride that would make Lovecraft blush." —MICHAEL WEHUNT, author of The October Film Haunt and Greener Pastures

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9780063423954
PRICE	$30.00 (USD)
PAGES	384

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Additional Information

Average rating from 139 members

Featured Reviews

JoHanna B, Reviewer

This is one of the most creatively written books I've read in a while and I had SUCH a blast with it! It felt like Goosebumps for adults. There were monsters, magic that didn't make sense, cults, vile gore, and so much chaos.
The dual timelines were incredibly helpful. When I was first plopped into this book, I felt like I wasn't really sure what was going on. The 2009 bits really helped make sense of the 2019 setting. I also loved the 2009 timeline and all of the nostalgia that came with it.
The Rachel's of the book were both great characters. They felt like one in the same at many points and I loved reading how each of their person's changed throughout the story. I felt so much for 2009 Rachel though. Those high school years are tough.
I feel like this is one you just have to go into completely blind and ride the vibe wave. It's such am immersive, weird read, but it was so much fun. It takes a bit to get into before you realize just how insane the story is, but it is so worth it. I wouldn't necessarily call this a slow burn, but there were times I found myself racing through 2019 so I could get back to the 2009 madness and learn more about what was happening.
I loved this book so much. It felt like the perfect blend of dark fantasy and horror to kick off my favorite time of year. I highly recommend adding this to your tbr if you're looking for some Goosebumps sort of vibes with the perfect blend of nostalgia! Thank you, William Morrow, for my gifted copy!

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Anthony P, Reviewer

Galloway's Gospel is easily a book of the year candidate

Sam Rebelein's Galloway's Gospel hits shelves everywhere in JUST 8 days get those preorders in now if you haven't already because this book is absolutely fucking phenomenal. This is the third "Rebelverse" book, so if you haven't read Edenville or The Poorly Made And Other Things yet, you have 8 days to do so. You won't regret it — these books are all amazing and Sam somehow manages to outdo himself with each one. Yes, Galloway's Gospel is the best of the three.

I finished this one a few days ago and I could honestly pick it up and read it again. I absolutely will when the audiobook is out. It's THAT good, you guys. Wanna know the last books I did that with? Nat Cassidy's When The Wolf Comes Home and Stephen Graham Jones's The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. That's some pretty damn good company.

Galloway does everything Edenville and Poorly Made excel at: the amazing Renfield lore, the wonderful cosmic weirdness, the culty aura, great characters, and so much personality and comedy. What Galloway did better, however, was everything listed above, some awesome creatures, excellent nostalgia bits, and a metric fuckton of perfectly executed emotional value.

Told in two timelines that, you guessed it, converge. One of these is in 2009, where we follow Rachel Galloway and the rise of a cult/religion around her artwork, the poo-pigs, glutton bats, and the ever-imposing mysterious Fogmonger (have faith in the fog). The other is 2019 where we follow Rachel Durwood (she of the Poorly Made emails), who is investigating day-by-day weirdness around Renfield County when she discovers a cult that has been hidden away...

The way Sam moves this story along, seamlessly flipping back and forth between the two Rachels, is nothing short of masterful. The tension, intrigue and mystery are top-notch from start to finish. I found myself needing to pick the book back up every chance I could get. I was crying my eyes out at the end.

This book is fantastic, it's wonderful, it's phenomenal, it's amazing, it's batshit, it's SO FUCKING GOOD. I can't praise this book enough. Please read it. Galloway's Gospel is an easy 5/5.