Fourteen-year-old Silla flees London with her little sister, Nori, to their estranged aunt in the country. Having escaped their abusive father, everything is lovely at La Baume first. Aunt Cath is loving, and there's more than enough to eat. But the woods are strange. La Baume is strange. Even Aunt Cath is strange. And then things take a downward turn. Three years later, Aunt Cath never leaves the attic, Silla fears for her own sanity, and food is running out. Then the beautiful Gowan appears out of the woods ich Silla considers haunted, believing if she and Nori try to leave, they'll risk the wrath of the Creeper Man. Gowan tries to revitalize their dying garden, but nothing can stop the encroaching forest from taking over. Silla, mute Nori, and Aunt Cath's contributions to the narrative are distinguished by unique design elements, though Silla is the main focus. Horror fans will delight in the grotesque poetry of this historical-feeling contemporary spine-chiller featuring a monumental twist ending. Not for the squeamish.

After Silla Daniels and her mute younger sister, Nori, escape their abusive father and a London on the brink of World War III, they make their way to the blood-red family manor where their estranged aunt Cath takes them in. When Cath-s grasp on reality falters and she retreats to the attic, the sisters are left with the sound of her constant pacing and a fear of the encroaching woods, home to the ever-hungry Creeper Man, whom Cath warned is coming for the sisters. Creaks, footsteps, and giggles echo through the decrepit manor while Nori, unbeknownst to Silla, spends her nights playing with an eyeless, long-limbed friend in the basement. Kurtagich follows The Dead House with a thought-provoking exploration of familial legacy and the sibling bond. The isolated and decaying manor setting creates an immediate sense of unease, and the villain is both physically and psychologically eerie; typographic manipulations and facsimiles of burned and torn notebook excerpts play into the psychologically unstable atmosphere. Readers will it hard to look away from this genuinely frightening story as the sisters- sanctuary becomes a nightmare. Ages 15-up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (Sept.)

Silla and her younger sister, Nori, run from home to their mother's childhood home, La Baume, where they live happily with their mother's elder sister, Catherine, until she has a breakdown. Cath retires permanently to the attic and warns Silla of the "Creeping Man" who will come to get them. Silla describes her terror as La Baume turns into a dark, nightmarish world with creaking boards, menacing presences heard but unseen, and a dark pit from which her abusive father's voice is heard. Meanwhile, Nori plays with a mysterious, tall, smiling man in the basement. There are references to Silla's teeth and hair falling out while outside, the garden dies, the surrounding trees creep right up to La Baume, and the house sinks into the earth strangled by tree roots.Kutragich evokes an all-pervading atmosphere of horror with dark imagery and language evoking rot, decay, and death. The young man, Gowan, who brings green apples and love into Silla's life, wants Silla to leave, but she refuses to go with him. Silla's narration, fragmented by torn pages on which she writes her thoughts, is interspersed with passages by Cath and Nori, and with the story of Cath and her sisters, which includes Cath's making the "Creeping Man" dollall of which contribute to an endless, sometimes, confusing, circle of horror. Only when a returning Gowan forces Silla to face the truth does the nightmare end. This unique novel is for teens who enjoy being immersed in a dark, complex horror story.Hilary Crew.