A young man arrives in a small town, hoping to leave his past behind him, but when he takes a job in a peculiar old shop, and meets a lonely single mother, everything changes … with devastating consequences. A chillingly hypnotic gothic thriller and a mesmerising study of identity and obsession.

‘This chilling gothic tale explores the dark corners of identity … beautifully written and a real page-turner' C J Cooke

'Dark, lyrical and intriguing' Fiona Cummins

‘Like Stephen King on crack … the most accomplished book I’ve read this year. Dark, gothic as hell, and genuinely scary’ M W Craven

'Eerily atmospheric, with brilliant characterisation … really gets under your skin' Culturefly

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Fear blisters through this town like a fever…

When Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, he believes he will be able to settle down and leave his past behind him. Little does he know that fear blisters through the streets like a fever. The locals tell him to stay away from an establishment known only as Berry & Vincent, that those who rub too closely to its proprietor risk a bad end.

Despite their warnings, Teddy is desperate to understand why Rye has come to fear this one man, and to see what really hides behind the doors of his shop.

Ada moved to Rye with her young son to escape a damaged childhood and years of never fitting in, but she’s lonely, and ostracised by the community. Ada is ripe for affection and friendship, and everyone knows it.

As old secrets bleed out into this town, so too will a mystery about a family who vanished fifty years earlier, and a community living on a knife edge.

Teddy looks for answers, thinking he is safe, but some truths are better left undisturbed, and his past will find him here, just as it has always found him before. And before long, it will find Ada too.

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‘An utterly chilling psychological horror of modern-day witchcraft, possession, murder and madness’ Essie Fox


‘Compelling and dark – draws you in from the very first page’ Heather Darwent

‘Twisted, toxic and deeply dark, this gives off Needful Things vibes – and that ending is just *perfect*’ Lisa Hall

‘This book sucks you in from the first spine-tingling chapter and weaves a dark, twisted and compelling sense of foreboding' Claire Allan

What readers are saying…

*****

‘I’m shook. This book is a force … a masterpiece’

‘An ending that left me slightly dumbstruck’

‘As delightful as it is dark, with beautiful turns of phrase that can be at once both buttery soft and sharp as a knife’

‘Intense, creepy and utterly chilling’

‘A story that will creep under your skin and leave you desperately unnerved'

‘Startling and incredibly intense’

‘Exactly what I look for in a gothic thriller!’

‘Deliciously dark’

‘It shook me to the core’

‘Dark, chilling, with a touch of genius’

‘Twisted and unnerving’

‘Beautiful and lyrical prose brings the setting to life and creates a pulsing tension’

‘This book creeps up on you…’

‘Captivating and claustrophobic’