ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2025
Why Did God Make the Tree? will be displayed at the IBPA Booth 1547, June 27-30, 2025.
ADVANCED READER COPY
Available on NetGalley until August 26, 2025
Why Did God Make the Tree?
A PATRICK DENNY NOVEL
Within the boundary between reality and nightmare, a psychiatrist confronts the dark mysteries of his patients’ minds—and his own.
Something isn’t quite right in Waylingbrooke, New Hampshire. Beneath the shadow of the town’s red brick watchtower, Dr. Patrick Denny—once a successful horror novelist—returns to his former profession of psychiatry, seeking solace in the quiet routines of Everston Psychiatric Hospital. Instead, he finds himself challenging the institution’s rigid reliance on medication as he guides his patients through the labyrinth of their minds: Samantha, an insomniac haunted by her parents’ deaths; Michael, who believes he’s living inside one of Patrick’s stories; and Amelia, a catatonic woman lost for decades 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 him threatens to emerge. As stories seem to birth stories and reality loses its edges, Patrick must question whether his return to psychiatry offers deliverance or signals his final descent into madness.
Why Did God Make the Tree? stands as a haunting literary exploration of consciousness, with three interconnected parts where surreal dreams and stories-within-stories illuminate the nature of identity. Following in the Gothic tradition of Shirley Jackson and Henry James, Gregg’s evocative debut rewards patient readers with its layered complexity and dreamlike psychological depth, challenging our assumptions about sanity, reality, and the power of the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Why Add This Book to Your Library?
- Tackles timely mental health themes with literary depth and suspense
- Strong New England gothic atmosphere and regional appeal
- Acclaimed by Kirkus, BookLife, and BlueInk Reviews
- Ideal for book clubs and mental health programming
- Series potential with a compelling, psychologically complex protagonist
Reader Appeal & Programming Value
Perfect for:
- Readers of psychological thrillers with literary merit
- Fans of New England gothic and regional fiction
- Book clubs and mental health professionals
- Those drawn to complex characters and suspenseful, atmospheric storytelling
Critical Reception
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Reader Reception
“Best book I’ve read so far this year . . . completely drew me in—surprisingly so, since I don’t typically gravitate toward darker, more macabre stories.”
“A gnarled, beautiful nightmare—where the roots of the past strangle the present.”
“A moving, thought-provoking exploration of connection, healing, and the quiet power of meaning.”
“This would be a great read for a book club. Lots to discuss!”
Quick Collection Development Info
- Title: Why Did God Make the Tree?
- Series: Patrick Denny Novels, Book 1
- Author: Tammy Gregg
- Publisher: Cemetery Hill Publications
- Publication Dates:
- Hardcover: April 2025
- Paperback & eBook: January 2026
- Pages: 306
- LCCN: 2025900234
- ISBNs:
- Hardcover: 979-8-9923271-0-6
- Paperback: 979-8-9923271-1-3
- eBook: 979-8-9923271-2-0
- Genre/BISAC: Literary Fiction / Psychological Suspense
- Library of Congress Subjects: Psychological fiction, Suspense fiction, Mental health-Fiction, Psychiatrists-Fiction, New Hampshire-Fiction
- Acquisition: Ingram | 55% discount | Fully returnable
- List Prices: HC $28.99 | PB $17.99 | eBook $10.99
Comparable Titles:
- The Cloisters by Katy Hays (Atria Books, 2022)
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides ( Celadon Books, 2019)
- Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey (Orbit, 2018)
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Alfred A. Knopf, 1992)
Content Advisory
- Mental illness and psychological distress
- Institutional psychiatric treatment
- Psychological trauma
- Brief references to suicide
- Some graphic violence
- Discussion of pedophilia (reader discretion advised)
- Gothic and surreal elements
Content advisories provided for informed collection and reader advisory decisions.
Book Club & Programming Resources
- Book Club Guide
- Quick Librarian Guide
- First Chapter Preview
- Media Kit: available upon request
- ARC Requests: eBook available on NetGalley until Aug 27, 2025, or by direct request
Cemetery Hill Publications and Tammy Gregg are proud members of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE), and New Hampshire Writers’ PROJECT (NHWP).