Christopher Castellani

Available February 17, 2026 from Viking

A contemplation on young men whose lives have ended, but who still seek connection, understanding, and resolution from beyond their watery graves

"I am one of those boys they keep finding in the river."

Caleb was driving home for Christmas.

Steven was pounding beers at a local bar.

Matthew was out looking for his ex-girlfriend.

Leo was walking in the woods on a winter night.

Then they disappeared.

Days, weeks, years later, their bodies turn up in icy rivers hundreds of miles apart. How did they get there? What, if anything, connects them? Some of their loved ones believe the official answers; others are convinced the boys are victims of a nihilistic network the media have dubbed the 'Smiley Face Killers.' Some are trying to forget.

Meanwhile, Caleb, Steven, Matthew, and Leo find one other—and other boys like them—in the murky depths of the afterlife. Each tells his story in his own way, speaking his version of truth, confessing his desires and grievances — even his hopes for a future he still somehow believes belongs to him. Each revelation draws the reader deeper into their intertwined fates on a journey through the landscapes of masculinity, identity, intimacy, and the haunting echoes of unresolved grief.

Praise for Last Seen

"Christopher Castellani is a master of portraying love and longing, and his latest novel may be his finest yet. Deftly interweaving the stories of four doomed young men—and those they leave behind—Last Seen explores our changing notions of masculinity and the ways grief can both make and unmake us. A morally complex and life-affirming exploration of what it means to be alive, and of the enduring power of love to transform, reanimate, and redeem." Celeste Ng, New York Times-bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts

"A brutal and luminous novel. Christopher Castellani delves into the turbulent waters of one of American society's most misunderstood characters: the troubled young male. Last Seen begins in death—boys mysteriously found in rivers—but in unraveling the mysteries of their fate, Castellani creates a mesmerizing panorama of young lives on the brink. This novel haunted me with its clarity and rage. Enter at your own risk." Christopher Bollen, author of Havoc

"In stunning prose filled with acute observations about the relationships that save us, Christopher Castellani has skillfully dramatized the voices of four young men connected by one unforgettable love. Last Seen is a deeply moving novel that reveals how the bonds between the living and the dead continue forever. Its characters are now part of my soul." Marjan Kamali, author of The Lion Women of Tehran

"A riveting thriller of unparalleled heart. At once a murder mystery of dead young men and a kaleidoscope of beautifully felt humanity, Christopher Castellani's Last Seen is a virtuosic performance by a brilliant storyteller: smooth, incandescent, and devastating. When Castellani trains his precisely observant eye on each of the young men who died, they shimmer to life, and the resulting crescendo cracks open the heart. I gulped this book down." Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body