First published 2001
Kate Sutton finds herself banished to a forbidding castle called Perilous Gard in 1558. Queen Mary Tudor has sent her to this remote fortress as punishment. Strange things begin happening around the castle that Kate cannot explain. She discovers clues pointing to an ancient civilization living beneath the ground. These Fairy Folk follow rituals older than Druidic traditions. Their customs include sacrificing humans to maintain their power. Kate must navigate this dangerous underground realm where her life hangs in the balance. She faces beings whose ways stretch back centuries before Christianity came to England. The Fairy Folk operate by rules Kate barely understands. Each choice she makes could mean survival or death. Kate's exile becomes a test of courage against forces that predate everything she knows about the world.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, fantasy, supernatural
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, survival
Setting: England, Perilous Gard
Period: 1558
280 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Content warnings: violence