Why Did God Make the Tree?
A Patrick Denny Novel
by Tammy Gregg
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Pub Date 14 Jan 2026 | Archive Date 27 Aug 2025
Cemetery Hill Publications | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
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Description
“A mystifying but endlessly absorbing tale blending surreality and issues of mental health . . . surprisingly cohesive, thanks in large part to the author’s deliberate pacing and unambiguous transitions.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Something isn’t quite right in Waylingbrooke, New Hampshire. Beneath the shadow of the town’s red brick watch tower, horror novelist Dr. Patrick Denny has returned to his long-abandoned profession of psychiatry. Years spent writing about the darkness within the human mind brought him no closer to understanding it. Now he seeks in his patients what eluded him in his fiction and finds himself compelled by three disturbing cases: an insomniac haunted by her parents’ deaths; a young man who believes he’s trapped inside one of Patrick’s stories; and a catatonic woman lost in the dark forest of her psyche.
In his attempt to untangle the mysteries of their troubled minds, Patrick finds that his own tormented past begins to bleed into his present, and the macabre storyteller that still dwells within threatens to emerge. As stories birth stories and reality loses its edges, Patrick must question whether his return to psychiatry offers enlightenment or signals his final descent into madness.
Why Did God Make the Tree? is a haunting exploration of consciousness in the tradition of Victorian and Modernist Gothic fiction. The novel weaves together psychology and superstition, reality and fantasy as the boundaries between stories within stories dissolve, unfolding as a triptych of tales—The Tower, The Monster, and The Tree. Gregg’s evocative debut rewards patient readers with its layered complexity and dreamlike psychological depth, while challenging assumptions about sanity, reality, and the human need for narrative.
A Note From the Publisher
Cover Art Design by David Rines
Hardcover (9798992327106) April 15, 2025
eBook (9798992327120) January 14, 2026
Cover Art Design by David Rines
Hardcover (9798992327106) April 15, 2025
eBook (9798992327120) January 14, 2026
Hardcover (9798992327106) April 15, 2025
eBook (9798992327120) January 14, 2026
Cover Art Design by David Rines
Hardcover (9798992327106) April 15, 2025
eBook (9798992327120) January 14, 2026
Advance Praise
“A mystifying but endlessly absorbing tale blending surreality and issues of mental health . . . surprisingly cohesive, thanks in large part to the author’s deliberate pacing and unambiguous transitions.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Compelling debut . . . explores madness, devil worship, human monstrosity, and the way stories and nature affect our own conscious reality . . . [Gregg] weaves these braided tales into a psychological procedural best suited for readers who relish humane scares over vivid gore . . . [and] toys with expectations throughout, favoring suggestion and mystery over spoon-fed exposition, trusting readers . . . to feel their way through the murk.”
—Editor's Pick, BookLife Reviews
“A journey through madness, love, and self-forgiveness in a modern-day gothic ghost story elevated by wit, rich characters, and proliferating mysteries . . . A master storyteller, Gregg implants exposition into the midst of powerful emotion . . . [and] deftly holds mirrors up to real-life horrors in this twisted, dark and deeply immersive tale.”
—Starred Review, BlueInk
“Filled with otherworldly encounters delivered with engaging conundrums for added value, Why Did God Make the Tree? is a delightfully unpredictable foray into psychological horror that is thoroughly absorbing from start to finish.”
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“A winding novel that delves into complex subjects through a dark, thought-provoking narrative lens . . . Some of the most haunting parts aren’t just monstrous in the story; they reflect real-world horrors. Gregg crafts one of the most thought-provoking portraits of a monster I’ve seen, one that leaves a burning, searing imprint on the conscience. It’s a raw, unflinching look at the darkness that exists both in the mind and in the world around us.”
—Renae M. Richardson, Dead Talk News
“Thought-provoking and haunting, this modern gothic tale presents psychological depth, humor, and poetic prose that will have audiences biting their nails in anticipation.”
—The BookLife Prize
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9798992327113 |
| PRICE | US$17.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 306 |
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