The Invocations

Sutherland (House of Hollow) pits three teens against a monstrous evil in this devilishly bewitching novel steeped in dark academia and set in a fantasy London where only women wield magic. Grieving schoolgirl Zara Jones yearns to reanimate her murdered sister while reclusive, queer heiress Jude Wolf seeks peace from a curse that has left her necrotic and tormented by demons. Seeking assistance in their endeavors, Zara and Jude tap Irish-born orphan Emer Byrne, a skilled witch who crafts custom spells for women willing to trade their souls for power “so that they in turn could find their own strength.” When a serial killer begins hunting Emer’s former clients, the trio reluctantly unite to find the murderer before the perpetrator finds them. Vivid descriptions, mellifluous prose, expert pacing, and a slow-burning romance keep the tension high and the pages turning while intimately written character arcs probe themes of misogyny, grief, and dynamics of gender and power. Sarcastic, wise-cracking dialogue tempers dark topics with droll wit as the twisty, haunting tale unveils multiple horrors such as rotting souls, inhuman evil, grotesque rituals, decaying bodies, and the chilling social inequities that disempower women. The protagonists read as white. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)