I purchased this book for my own collection.
Publisher: Kensington
Published: January 27, 2026
Summary:
Amidst the devastation of Ireland’s Great Famine, a young woman is salvaged from certain death when offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house haunted by a strange power and the horror of her own memories in this chillingly evocative historical novel braided with gothic horror and supernatural suspense for readers of Katherine Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts and The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins.
County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O’Shaughnessy has lost everything—her entire family and the man she trusted with her heart. Toiling in the Ennis Workhouse for paltry rations, she can see no future either within or outside its walls—until the mysterious Lady Catherine arrives to whisk her away to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.
Lady Catherine wants Maggie to impersonate her late daughter, Wilhelmina, and hoodwink solicitors into releasing Wilhelmina’s widow pension so that Lady Catherine can continue to provide for the villagers in her care. In exchange, Maggie will receive freedom from the workhouse, land of her own, and the one thing she wants more than a chance to fulfill the promise she made to her brother on his deathbed—to live to spite them all.
Launching herself into the daunting task, Maggie plays the role of Wilhelmina as best she can while ignoring the villagers’ tales of ghostly figures and curses. But more worrying are the whispers that come from within. Something in Lady Catherine’s house is reawakening long-buried memories in Maggie—of a foe more terrifying than hunger or greed, of a power that calls for blood and vengeance, and of her own role in a nightmare that demands the darkest sacrifice . . .
My thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book and have not stopped thinking about it since I finished reading it. Historical horror is one of my favorite subgenres and this one delivered on so many levels.
This story had such a grip on me as I was reading it, and I was totally obsessed with it. Being of Irish descent, I had heard of The Irish Potato Famine, but not to this extent and boy were my eyes opened! I loved the way the author blended historical fiction, gothic horror and folklore. It sure had me going down a bunch of rabbit holes once I was done reading but I love that!
This book has a lot of moving pieces, but I was so captivated! Once I started this one, I could not stop reading it! It’s so atmospheric and the writing just pulls you in. It’s hard not to become attached to and invested in Maggie and her story. She is the type of character I love reading about – both strong and brave yet also willing to do what she has to in order to make her life better.
I appreciated that this book doesn’t pull any punches. The horrors of what Maggie and her family went through are on the pages. The starvation, the desperation, the complete failure of those in power – the author doesn’t shy away from any of it. This isn’t an easy read by any means and at times, it is hard but that’s what makes this so powerful.
The emotions I felt reading this book were unreal. While I know the author blended fact and fiction, just reading her author’s note and rereading all the anecdotes that author has sprinkled throughout the book, I was devastated all over again at what really happened during this period in time. This author has written a book that is both compelling and deeply unsettling and one that I highly recommend!!
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