In this tantalizing tale of Victorian ghost stories and family secrets, timid, solitary librarian Gerard Freeman lives for just two things: his elusive pen pal Alice and a story he found hidden in his mother's drawer years ago. Written by his great-grandmother Viola, it hints at his mother's role in a sinister crime. As he discovers more of Viola's chilling tales, he realizes that they might hold the key to finding Alice and unveiling his family's mystery—or will they bring about his untimely death, as they seem to foretell?
Harwood's astonishing, assured debut shows us just how dangerous family skeletons—and stories—can be.
John Harwood is the author of several novels of gothic suspense, including The Séance, which won the Aurealis Award for best horror novel, and The Ghost Writer, which won the International Horror Guild’s Best First Novel Award. Aside from fiction, his published work includes biography, poetry, and literary history.
Simon Vance is a critically acclaimed narrator who has recorded over eight hundred audiobooks and has received over fifty Earphones Awards. A twelve-time Audie Award winner and frequent finalist, he has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice, an AudioFile Best Voice, and the first Booklist Voice of Choice. A former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London, he currently lives in California, where he also pursues stage and television acting.