First published 2017
Samantha Mather has just arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, dragged from New York City by circumstances she didn't choose. The locals notice her last name immediately. A clique of girls called the Descendants, whose ancestors were accused during the witch trials, decide Sam is their enemy before she unpacks a single box. Her great-times-several-grandfather Cotton Mather helped send innocent people to their deaths, and in Salem, that debt is not forgotten. Then Sam meets a ghost. He is handsome, irritable, and very particular about his belongings. He is also the first clue that something larger is wrong. Sam starts piecing together a curse that has been killing people connected to the trials for centuries, and the cycle is still running. To stop it, she has to make allies out of the Descendants, the same girls who have been making her life miserable since day one. The clock is not on her side. Neither is the town's history. Sam has to decide whether the sins of her ancestor are hers to answer for, and whether she can trust people who have every reason to hate her.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, fantasy, horror, supernatural, young-adult
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, eerie, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: curse-breaking, enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Salem, Massachusetts, New York City
Period: Salem Witch Trials
368 pages · Paperback · Ember
Content warnings: death, murder