In the House of Leviathan

A fishing village nestled in Italian cliffs, peopled by simple folk with religion and superstition. A blind, deaf man is seen summoning the devil and chaos ensues. An old paper mill, an undelivered letter, gruesome deaths, haunting spirits and a damaged soldier's vow to keep his younger sister safe, In the House of Leviathan is a trip back in time, filled with terror, uncertainty and pain.


Book of the Year, Suspense, Finalist-Foreword MagazineBook of the Year, Horror, Finalist-Foreword Magazine


From readers:

"The descriptions in the book were fantastic, and made me feel like I was actually in 19th century Italy. The village of Amalfi came to life for me, along with its characters."




"This story is a good, scary, Gothic style, keep the lights on all night, haunting story. Bruns has started slow and built up the creepy sensation to a bursting point. The war hero trying desperately to save his younger sister from the evil. The young fisherman fighting to save the girl he loves. The priest who knows the secret but is unable to tell."

"With precision the author creates characters that are complex, realistic and unforgettable."




"Very well crafted. The characters are each unique and well fleshed out, each with their own story to tell."






"This man has seen it all!" - Deborah Roberts, ABC 20/20 "Bruns' prose ... proves his steady and deliberate writing voice." - Writer's Digest "Bruns has tension building down to an art form. I was squirming in my seat to find out what would happen in the end." - Reader's Favorite Reviews "Bruns... creates well-imagined, realistic settings for his lively characters." - Kirkus Reviews "Bruns has created a brilliant novel here. He mixes horror, love story, and detailed descriptions of a beautiful historical setting with a perfect balance." - Critical Blast "This is old-school horror like H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. It scared the bee-jeezus out of me." - Revolution SF "I found this book to be an extreme delight. Bruns builds with a subtle tension rather than in your face horror. But do not misunderstand that statement: the horror is there and very real." - Horror Novel Reviews "A literary masterpiece filled with depth and intrigue, veiled in an atmosphere of darkness with barely a sliver of hope left, Leviathan yanked me in, held me spellbound, then dropped me back into reality feeling changed, and not quite ready to leave, it is that good." -Tome Tender "Great character development and a lot of original ideas. Recommended!" - Horror After Dark "The descriptions in the book made me feel like I was actually in 19th century Italy. The village of Amalfi came to life for me, along with its characters." - Reader Review "I loved Grapaldi, who Giuseppe thinks of as a troll living in the darkness beneath the mill. Blind and ancient in years he's wise and perceptive, bringing light to the mystery that haunts the Apuzzo family." - Reader Review "It's a story that is solidly based on psychological horror as such, it provides a powerful blend of images and experiences that rely on well-developed protagonists and settings steeped in historical background and different acts of courage. Literary fans of the horror genre will find it an absorbing story that sacrifices light predictability for depth and solid development, making In the House of Leviathan a standout." - Midwest Book Review