A haunting ode to Cornish folklore and the secrets of the places we call home
'This powerfully brutal novel is the most exciting thing I've read in years' S. J. WATSON
'A strange and beautiful novel' OBSERVER
'A wild and darkly exuberant ride of a novel' JEFF VANDERMEER
Everything that comes from the ground must go back down... eventually
Merryn grew up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the village, fear for the future of their farms and cling desperately to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history. Except Merryn, who has escaped to Manchester for university, briefly untethering herself from her past.
When Merryn returns home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, she finds her childhood home stranger and more secretive than ever. She's sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there's a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore that seems to be linked somehow to Claud...
As the Sunday Times bestselling author, Jodie Matthews weaves a tale that is as much about the small, rural town as it is about the characters. The stories of the town, steeped in mythology and legends, become a character in their own right, adding a layer of depth to the narrative.
For fans of David Barnett (Withered Hill), Andrew Michael Hurley (Starve Acre), Lucy Rose (The Lamb), William Boyd (The Blue Afternoon), and Kate Atkinson (Shrines of Gaiety).
HarperCollins 2024
