Landry Hutton has spent three years rebuilding her life behind the secure gates of The Haven, an exclusive resort on the outskirts of Gossamer Falls, North Carolina. As the artist-in-residence, and with her pottery prized by The Haven's guests, Landry is finally ready to settle in permanently. She wants to give her daughter, Eliza, a safe home to grow up in and hires former Marine Callum Shaw to handle the construction. Cal grew up in Gossamer...

The restless rats return in James Herbert's Lair, the second horror novel in the Rats trilogy.
The mutant white rat had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair.
Now the dark rats were restless, tormented by a craving they could not satisfy. But the white slug-like thing that ruled them knew. Its two heads weaved

...

I remember that promise to J. B. like it was yesterday. After losing his mom at age ten, Matthew Redd found a new home in Montana with J. B. Thompson-a man who knew the value of hard work and simple living. J. B. didn't have much reason to celebrate Christmas before becoming Redd's dad but threw himself into building traditions, including a tree, a few practical gifts, and the essential holiday movies: A Christmas Story and Die Hard. Eight years...

A captured phone from a dead assassin reveals that Matthew Redd is the group's next target. When he learns of this, Redd sends his family into hiding and goes to the mountains to wait for the killers to come to him. With a snowstorm moving in, he will fight alone to survive in harsh conditions. But when the group takes their attack to his hometown, Redd will need all the help he can get.