Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta — the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter — but Cheltenham Ladies’ College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.
Every Thursday evening, the senior girls play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.
But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious — or fall victim to its deadly game?
Sarah Raughley is a Nigerian-Canadian novelist and a member of the Royal Society of Canada: the national council of distinguished Canadian scholars, scientists, and artists. She’s best known for her YA books: The Effigies Series, The Bones of Ruin Trilogy, and The Queen’s Spade duology. Raughley is also an English professor and public intellectual who has written for publications such as The Washington Post and CBC. You can find out more about her work at sarahraughley.com.