Whitby

Acclaimed by Kirkus Reviews:

"An otherworldly tale that's enthralling, profound, and unabashedly gloomy." -- Kirkus Reviews

An American writer's bid for escape takes him to a much darker place in Brown's paranormal romantic thriller.

Winning a Pulitzer Prize hasn't exactly brought H.A. Hopes elation. His celebrated book left him "creatively drained," and now his publisher wants a follow-up that he can't deliver. He catches a flight to Whitby, England, where he can bask in anonymity. On his first day, Hopes meets Elise, a local woman who charms him in various ways-some that he can't explain. By the next morning, the previous night's details are murky, but there's no doubt that Hopes is sick; Elise has apparently infected him with an autoimmune disease, which he can keep at bay by feeding on blood and staying out of sunlight. There are others like Elise and Hopes, carrying a genetic mutation that one private company has unsuccessfully tried to replicate. As said company sends agents after anyone with that gene, Elise dreams up a way that they can fight back. Early scenes in Brown's short novel are atmospheric, like one in which Hopes and Elise walk Whitby's quiet streets on a drizzly afternoon and there are no sounds other than the raindrops and their footsteps. Some of that seductively moody tone dissipates in the latter half, however, when Hopes, Elise, and several of her blood-drinking comrades actively seek a facility. Not entirely avoiding the V-word, the story zeroes in on Hopes' struggles as he changes physically and falls for a woman who may or may not feel the same (and certainly doesn't clarify those feelings). Discussions of the pair's potential romance, as well as their shared condition, are rich in metaphor and lyrically depicted: "[The hungry ghost] anchors to memory...Something half-remembered-a smell, a sentence, a pair of eyes across a crowded place, the taste of an afternoon you thought would never end." The narrative culminates in a superb and indelible final act.