PNN
New Delhi [India], February 3: At a time when psychologically layered thrillers are capturing the imagination of young readers across India, A Cold Hold by author Sanjana Kanamarlapudi has emerged as a breakout success, reaching #1 on Amazon India in the “Mysteries & Thrillers for Young Adults” category. Published by Anecdote Publishing House, the novel’s rapid rise reflects a growing appetite for stories that combine suspense with emotional depth, speaking to young readers through themes of identity, resilience, and self-understanding.
Set within the unsettling quiet of a boarding school, A Cold Hold follows Gwen Griswold, a teenage girl who begins experiencing unsettling encounters tied to an unsolved murder. Voices in the dark, footsteps in empty corridors, and memories that surface when the world grows silent, blur the line between reality and imagination, forcing Gwen to confront not only the hidden truths around her but also what she has been holding inside.
The novel makes a striking promise early on:
“This is not a story about hauntings. It is a story about holding on.”
It is this emotional core, layered beneath the book’s chilling atmosphere and psychological tension, that has resonated strongly with readers, propelling A Cold Holdto the top of its category shortly after release. Rather than relying on conventional horror tropes, the novel explores fear as something internal, shaped by memory, silence, and unresolved pain.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the book, Sanjana Kanamarlapudi said, “I wanted to write something that feels unsettling but also human, a story where fear doesn’t just come from the dark, but from what we carry inside us. A Cold Hold is about pain, memory, resilience, and the kind of strength inside us we don’t always see.”
Born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Singapore, Sanjana has been writing since early childhood, publishing her first book at the age of eight. Over the years, she has authored ten books across genres ranging from children’s fiction to young adult literature, with several of her earlier titles achieving Top 10 rankings on Amazon Kindle, including a#1 position in the Children’s Time Travel category, and receiving strong reader response on Amazon and Goodreads. Her published works to date include:
330% – Making the Impossible, Possible
Back to Earth: Past And Future
The Moon Wolf
The Four Seasons
Bella Clarke And the Cave of Mysteries
Cupcake The Unicorn
Cupcake The Unicorn in Candyland
Cupcake The Unicorn Family
I Love My Dog Teddy
Across these books, she has steadily developed a distinctive voice marked by emotional depth and a sensitivity to young readers’ inner worlds. A Cold Hold, her latest and most mature work to date, reflects that evolution – combining mystery, psychological tension, and an empathetic understanding of adolescent experience.
Sanjana’s journey as a writer has also extended beyond the page. She has been invited to engage with readers and young audiences at literary festivals, academic forums, and cultural spaces, sharing perspectives on storytelling, youth voices, and the power of narrative.
As readers increasingly gravitate toward horror and thriller fiction that explores trauma, grief, and inner conflict rather than surface-level scares, A Cold Hold arrives at a cultural moment primed for psychological storytelling with heart. With its cinematic boarding school setting, slow building tension, and emotionally grounded narrative, the novel is already being embraced by fans of mystery, thrillers, and suspense fiction, and its rise to the top of the Amazon charts signals that this haunting story has struck a powerful chord.
A Cold Hold is available in paperback on Amazon India.
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