Palmetto: A Novella

In this gripping psychological thriller, Kim Devland’s dream home becomes a sinister nightmare as she spirals into madness, exploring the dark depths of desire, sacrifice, and obsession. Kim Devland nearly has it all. A great marriage. A baby on the way. All that’s missing is a house—one idyllic enough to fill the Norman Rockwell-shaped spaces in her mind. When Kim’s husband, Eddie, books a property tour of a home Kim has been eyeing online, it’s love at first sight. Far too expensive for them to afford, Kim and Eddie make an offer anyway...and score the deal of a lifetime. The house is suddenly theirs, and Kim sees it as destiny. But something begins to squirm beneath Kim’s skin. Something portentous. A warning. Don’t buy this house. Blinded by the idea of storybook happiness, Kim barrels headlong into a dream that quickly proves to be anything but. Her once joyful anticipation morphs into a harrowing descent into madness, and a chilling realization dawns upon her—this house is not a sanctuary but a prison, a sinister labyrinth where nightmares are born. In a homage to Ira Levin’s chilling masterpiece, Rosemary’s Baby, Ahlborn’s Palmetto delves into the depths of human desire, probing the boundaries of sacrifice and obsession. How far would you go to grasp your heart’s deepest desires? Watching your dream become a waking nightmare, how loud would you scream?