The simmering menace and mystery kept me absolutely gripped...a smoldering novel that I could not put down. --Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne

Rebecca meets The Secret History: gloriously dark, gloriously Gothic. --Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Fannie Langton

Named a Best Book of 2021 by Goodreads - Entertainment Weekly - Parade - PopSugar - Brit+Co - Romper - Frolic - Crime Reads - SheKnows.com - Women.com

Discover the secrets of Caldonbrae Hall in this riveting, modern gothic debut set at an all girls' boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula.

For 150 years, high above rocky Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat untouched, a beacon of excellence in an old ancestral castle. A boarding school for girls, it promises that the young women lucky enough to be admitted will emerge resilient and ready to serve society.

Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie: a 26-year-old Classics teacher, Caldonbrae's new head of the department, and the first hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose is overwhelmed to be invited into this institution, whose prestige is unrivaled. But she quickly discovers that behind the school's elitist veneer lies an impenetrable, starkly traditional culture that she struggles to reconcile with her modernist beliefs--not to mention her commitment to educating girls for the future.

It also doesn't take long for Rose to suspect that there's more to the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor--a woman whose ghost lingers everywhere--than anyone is willing to let on. In her search for this mysterious former teacher, Rose instead uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, forcing her to confront the true extent of the school's nefarious purpose, and her own role in perpetuating it.

A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep readers engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion.

They want our silence...
They want our obedience...
Let them see our fire burn

The most dazzling summer casts the darkest shadows in Phoebe Wynne's thrilling gothic novel, The Ruins.

Welcome to the Château des Sètes, a jewel of the Côte d'Azur, where long summer days bring ease, glamour, and decadence to the holidaymakers who can afford it.

Ruby Ashby adores her parents' house in France, but this August, everything feels different. Unexpected guests have descended upon the château--friends of her parents, and their daughters--and they are keen to enjoy the hot, extravagant summer holiday to its fullest potential. But despite languid days spent poolside and long nights spent drinking, a simmering tension grows between the adults, and the sanctuary that Ruby once cherished soon starts to feel like a gilded cage.

Over two decades later, the Château des Sètes is for sale, its days of splendor and luxury long gone, leaving behind a terrible history and an ugly legacy. A young widow has returned to France, wanting to purchase the estate despite her memories of what transpired that fateful summer. But there is another person who is equally haunted by the château, and who also seeks to reclaim it. Who will set the house and its ghosts free--and who will become yet another of its victims?

With riveting psychological complexity, The Ruins captures the tangled legacy of abuse, the glittering allure of the Mediterranean, and the dark shadows that wait beneath the surface of both.