cover image The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish

Paula Brackston. St. Martin’s, $29 (368p) ISBN 978-1-250-28402-0

A young woman unravels an ancient mystery in this spine-tingling dark fantasy from Brackston (City of Time and Magic). In Victorian England, Hecate Cavendish accepts a position as an assistant librarian at Hereford’s cathedral rather than consign herself to marriage. There, she discovers she has the ability to communicate with spirits. When bodies disappear from the tombs in the cathedral’s crypt, Hecate suspects something more sinister than simple grave robbery, perhaps related to the mysterious deaths that have been plaguing Hereford. With the help of her new ghost friends from the cathedral and her archeologist father, Hecate sets out to stop the evil lurking in Hereford before it’s too late. Brackston seamlessly blends horror, fantasy, and mystery as Hecate investigates who is pulling the strings to raise the dead. The answers, however, will have to wait, as a cliffhanger ending sets the stage for a sequel. This will frustrate some, but readers with a penchant for gothic fantasy won’t want to miss this. (July)