by Kat Dunn
First published 2026
Odette splits her time between the family's Hampstead residence and the ancient Herne House in Suffolk, accompanied by her beloved Cecilia. Her artist mother Lydia maintains strict control over Odette's life, yet the two young women enjoy considerable freedom to explore, study, and nurture their love. When Lydia falls mysteriously ill and dies, darkness descends upon the household. During the funeral proceedings, Odette's cold aunt Claudine assumes increasing authority while Odette's father withdraws into his study. Grief overwhelms Odette, who retreats into the manor's shadows. Claudine announces her engagement to Odette's father, positioning herself as the new stepmother. Then something malevolent stirs within the house walls. Odette realizes with terror that Lydia's death did not end her presence. Her mother's spirit remains, and she seeks vengeance. This sapphic gothic horror draws inspiration from Hamlet's revenge themes, set against the atmospheric backdrop of 1890s England. The story weaves together love and loss, the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, and the thin boundaries separating death from madness.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, horror, dark-fantasy, gothic, lesbian-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, haunting, intimate, melancholic, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, ghost-revenge, maternal-haunting, sapphic-romance
Setting: Hampstead, Herne House, Suffolk, England
Period: 1890s, 19th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Zando
Content warnings: death, mental-illness