We Run The Night

Inspired by the local urban legend of night runners, this chilling, Kenyan-set debut blends horror and the mythical to tell a universal coming-of-age story about a girl facing impossible odds-perfect for fans of SHE IS A HAUNTING and WHITE SMOKE.

 

When Shani returns to her elite, isolated boarding school after her father’s mysterious death, she just wants to finish senior year with her scholarship intact—which means focusing on her work and staying out of trouble. Even with her best friend, Pendo, by her side, she’s never quite fit in at Taji Academy. But soon, strange things start happening at school-not only are students coming down with odd, grotesque skin maladies, someone is causing chaos on campus after curfew. Are they night runners, the supernatural entities that terrorize rural neighborhoods in the dark?

 

The strict administration insists it’s just students pulling pranks. Everyone knows that night runners are just an urban legend. But when one of the popular students, Adila, goes missing-and Shani wakes up one morning with mud on her feet, torn clothes, and a pounding headache-she knows it’s more than that. As she and others at Taji begin to transform, with no way to contact the outside world, she must figure out what is happening at Taji-before it’s too late.

Additional information

Genre

Horror

Age

Young Adult

Publisher

Independent

Imprint

Soho Teen

Language(s)

English

Format(s)

Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover

Author

Peace Mbengei

Release Date

15 September 2026

Release Month

September Releases

Author Identity

BIPOC

Content Rep

BIPOC

About the Author

Peace Mbengei is a Kenyan-born and Australian-based medical doctor who graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelors degree in Medicine & Surgery and earned a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of London. She was longlisted for the 2019 Writivism short story prize and her short fiction has appeared in several magazines.

 

She caught the writing bug when she was a little girl. Fortunately, they are yet to find a cure and she hopes they never will.

 

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