It Looks Like You in the Dark

Happy release day to It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller! The first in her new Kobuk Valley series, this horror novel centers Iñupiat people, history, and folklore. It takes place in an Indigenous Alaskan village in 1994, and white men have just arrived to mine, heedless of the health issues their excavation will cause. Tapeesa is only 19, but she cares deeply about protecting her people and her village. But another terror has arrived in town, too: a strange, monstrous creature that lurks in the dark, ready to attack. When her sister Esther goes missing, Tapeesa is sick with worry about that monster as well as the dangerous newcomers. And when she looks into the night, is that her own face she sees? Who is really in danger… and what is Tapeesa’s role in it all?

What I Liked:

• Alaskan Native folklore and history. So much of this book is rooted in Iñupiat culture and history. Though this book is set in 1994, villagers can’t help but consider the devastation white men wreaked a hundred years prior during the gold rush. Their past ties remain, as does their belief system and folklore. I loved getting to hear their stories with their harsh lessons, as well as the use of the Iñupiaq language.
• Dangers of white men and supernatural beings. We’ve been asked to choose between men and a bear; this book pits the dangers of racist white men against the dangers of a monstrous figure in the night. Both pose very different but very real threats. But as with the bear… I think I’ll choose the monster.
• A darker side. Tapeesa keeps a harsh secret close to her chest, related to her late father and her role in his death. Is there a darkness inside of her? Is it still within her? And when she sees her own face on the fearsome being haunting her town, how can she grapple with who or what she is?
• Complicated relationships. Family matters a great deal to Tapeesa, from her smart but troubled younger sister to her alcoholic mother and her brilliant cousin. Tapeesa also has a serious boyfriend, but is she ready for marriage yet? And how does the wider community in her village support (or not support) one another in trying times?

Audiobook:

Zorga Qaunaq does an excellent narration for It Looks Like You in the Dark. Her delivery quickly grew on me, and she did a great job of capturing Tapeesa’s character here. She sounds at once like a 19-year-old—strong-willed, at times immature, but passionate about the things that matter to her—yet also like a brave young woman. I also appreciated the narrator’s pronunciation of Iñupiaq words and names.

Final Thoughts

It Looks Like You in the Dark is a chilling and smart Indigenous horror novel, and an excellent debut. Parts were genuinely scary, but it’s also thought-provoking and rich with Iñupiat culture. I look forward to continuing the Kobuk Valley series and reading more from Mathilda Zeller.

Special thanks to Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy It Looks Like You in the Dark here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller
Series	Kobuk Valley (#1)
Audiobook Narrator	Zorga Qaunaq
Audience	Adult
Genre	Horror
Setting	Alaska
Number of Pages	288
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	October 13, 2026
Publisher	Tor Nightfire

Official Summary

It Looks Like You in the Dark is a propulsive Indigenous horror debut, expertly blending Alaskan Native folklore and supernatural thrills, from Mathilda Zeller, author of the acclaimed short story “Kushtuka” featured in the bestselling horror anthology, Never Whistle at Night.

The only people who know are the people who have gone. Those people no longer have throats to tell us.

Tapeesa is newly out of high school and working in a fish processing plant in the Inupiat village, Chukchi, where she’s lived her whole life. Maybe that’s why people tend to assume she isn’t that bright—or maybe her mama is right and she does have bad blood. Either way, she knows the legend, and she knows the history. Her Ahna told her that the hungry creature—the kushtuka—appears to us in the form of someone we love. It will try to get us to follow it. Follow it where? Those who have gone no longer have throats to tell us.

The Kobuk River Valley of remote Alaska draws greedy white men time and time again. But whenever they come, death comes too. This time the white men are here for the long term, to create an open pit, a rare earths mine just north of the village. When her sister Esther goes missing, Tapeesa will do anything to get her back. Seeking justice, Tapeesa must track down the kidnapper in the darkening Arctic. What awaits beyond the warmth of her village is more horrible than she could imagine and closer to her than she knows.

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK is a fast-paced, grab-you-by-the-throat story about love, loyalty, and all the fearsome monsters that emerge when we turn our backs on the land and each other.