First published 1962
The Blackwoods live a reclusive life, haunted by a past tragedy. When a curious cousin arrives, tensions boil over as the family's macabre quirks and deadly loyalties are exposed. Guided by the defiant, unsettling narration of young Merricat, this gothic tale winds through the Blackwoods' insular world of ritual, paranoia, and violence. As their family's dark history unravels, the stakes grow ever higher in this chilling portrait of the human capacity for both cruelty and compassion.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, horror, gothic
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
152 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: violence