First published 2026
Johnny, a filmmaker and grandson of 1940s Black actress Mazelle Washington, drives up to his grandmother's cabin retreat in the California mountains. Mazywood sits empty now, fifty years after Mazelle's death, but Johnny soon learns his grandmother left more than memories behind. As he explores the property, the story shifts between three generations, revealing Mazelle's early life as a young actress who harbored a terrible secret from childhood. She once made a dark wish that came true, and something has lived in the woods around Mazywood ever since. This creature is both lonely and filled with rage, connected to the legacy Mazelle passed down through the generations. Johnny must confront what his grandmother created and nurtured in these mountains, discovering how her anger shaped not just her own life but the lives of everyone who came after her.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, african-american, horror, supernatural, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, haunting, introspective, melancholic, suspenseful
Tropes: dark-wish-consequence, family-legacy, haunted-place, multi-generational-narrative
Setting: Mazywood, California Mountains
Period: 1940s, 20th Century
504 pages · Hardcover · S&S/Saga Press
Content warnings: death, violence