November 16, 2020
When Bram Howland’s troubles begin threatening her widowed mother’s social standing, the 17-year-old recovering drug addict heads upstate from Manhattan to Louth, where her uncle James is renovating a mansion built by the town’s namesake. Locals believe the building has been cursed since 1890, when 18-year-old Grace Louth drowned herself in the Hudson River after her father bribed her lover to leave town. Multiple “dead girls” have subsequently been linked to the house, most recently James’s second wife, Dahlia Bellinger, who died in a fire allegedly set by her teenage daughter, Lark. James claims that Lark, who is now in a mental hospital, became obsessed with Grace Louth while living in the manor and went mad. Bram suspects there is more to the story, though—particularly after she starts seeing Grace’s ghost. Miller (the Kiki Strike series) delivers a feminist twist on gothic horror that thrills and chills while exploring the myriad ways that society tries to silence “problematic” women. Tense, twisty plotting and atmospheric prose help offset some superficial character development, propelling the book to a rewarding, optimistic close. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor.