A National bestseller! “A gorgeously evocative gothic fantasy.” —Ava Reid #1 New York Times
bestselling author of A Study in Drowning A lush haunting romantasy from the New York Times
bestselling author of The Weaver Bride perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and
Anatomy: A Love Story . In Regency-era England two sisters fight to hold on to their manor
while deadly monsters prowl along its perimeters. Merrick Darling’s life as daughter of the
Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners she is immune to the toxic fog
that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom—one of the
monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold
them back her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing yet she will never inherit her
family’s Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister Essie.
Everything is turned on its head though when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her
New London society life of ball gowns and parties Merrick must travel back to her childhood
home the Darling estate of Norland House and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong
and capable Essie is withdrawn and frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks
along the province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying
and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren’t holding which makes
Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only
monsters in Merrick’s world and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness.
Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question
but when Essie goes missing it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only who can she trust when
everyone seems to be scheming and when all she holds true feels like it’s slipping right out
of her grasp?
