- Horror, Gothic, Fantasy, Fiction
*Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears.* Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth―strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries―is the light of Roos' life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos' backroom seances, and the two strike up a connection. Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air at night, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable. Then, someone is murdered. Poor, alone, and with a history of 'hysterics', Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who―or what―is at fault or lose everything she holds dear.
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Character
Classical in form, grave, intimate and unpretentious.
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
- intimateepic
- unpretentiousprestige
- warmbleak
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About the book
- Author
- Johanna van Veen
- First published
- 2024
- Pages
- 384
- Publisher
- Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, Incorporated
- Editions
- 2
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9781464227677
Where to read
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On Open Library, 1 have read it and 12 want to.
Johanna Van Veen grew up in the Netherlands with her twin sisters; they are triplets and although not identical, they share a strong bond. She earned both an MA in English Literature and Digital Media from Leiden University. Johanna is the author of ***My Darling Dreadful Thing*** (2024) and ***Blood on Her Tongue*** (2025), as well as the upcoming middle-grade novel ***The Witch of Hagstone Hill*** (2025), the first installment of *The Triplets Grim trilogy*. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her wife, her sisters, and her dog, though not necessarily all at the same time.
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