The Garden

Newman, a pseudonym for children’s author Nicholas Bowling (The Undying of Obedience Wellrest), debuts with a chilling speculative fable. Elderly sisters Evelyn and Lily rarely venture beyond the kitchen of their dark, moldering family home. They certainly don’t leave the walled-off boundaries of their property, adhering to rules written down by their mother after dust storms ravaged the world and their father abandoned the family. As the sisters’ supply of preserved meat starts to dwindle, however, Evelyn wonders how long they can afford to remain isolated. One night, a nameless young man breaks into the house, upending the duo’s routine and pitting them against each other. Evelyn fears the intruder and bristles at the way his presence forces her to face her loneliness, while Lily views him as the ticket out of a prison she longs to escape. As tensions rise between the trio, the sisters are forced outside into an unwelcoming world, and skeletons from their past threaten to sully their mother’s memory. Newman impresses with his atmospheric prose and sharp exploration of obedience and isolation. This will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the final page. Agent: Liv Maidment, Madeleine Milburn Agency. (Feb.)