The Girl from Rawblood

Winner of BEST HORROR NOVEL (August Derleth Award) at British Fantasy Awards 2016

For generations the Villarcas have died mysteriously, and young. Now Iris and her father will finally understand why...

At the turn of England's century, as the wind whistles in the lonely halls of Rawblood, young Iris Villarca is the last of her family's line. They are haunted, through the generations, by "her," a curse passed down through ancient blood that marks each Villarca for certain heartbreak, and death.

Iris forsakes her promise to her father, to remain alone, safe from the world. She dares to fall in love, and the consequences of her choice are immediate and terrifying. As the world falls apart around her, she must take a final journey back to Rawblood where it all began and where it must all end...

From the sun dappled hills of Italy to the biting chill of Victorian dissection halls, The Girl from Rawblood is a lyrical and haunting historical novel of darkness, love, and the ghosts of the past.

Praise for The Girl from Rawblood:

"A hauntingly brilliant virtuoso performance." -- Emma Healey, author of Elizabeth is Missing

"A gothic tale of love and madness, this atmospheric and chilling story drew me in from the first page, and kept me up at night, until I reached the last." -- Claire Fuller, author of Our Endless Numbered Days

"A story to satisfy the most gothic of hearts. I was hooked on the very first page and The Girl from Rawblood never let me go. Sentence by sentence, Catriona Ward made herself one of my very favorite writers." -- Kelly Link, award-winning author and Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Get in Trouble

"Brilliant - The Girl From Rawblood is the old-school gothic novel I have been waiting for. While it delivers everything I want from a 'haunted house/family curse' story, it is still stunningly original. I have never read anything like it and that's saying something." -- Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy comic book series

"The Girl from Rawblood weaves a spell that both terrifies and mesmerizes. As each layer of mystery is peeled away, more haunting truth is revealed. The book leaves the reader breathless in its gothic tale of fear, family, blood, and love." -- Simone St. James, award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare

"'Beautifully written, in equal parts both terrifying and heart-breaking, The Girl from Rawblood is a dazzlingly brilliant Gothic masterpiece." -- Sarah Pinborough, author of Behind Her Eyes

"A lush, macabre, chillingly good tale. From the modern horrors of man - medical experiments, war - to the ancient power of the natural world, The Girl from Rawblood is not only a ghost story of the highest order, but a sublime meditation on the things that hold us captive: fidelity, fear, memory, love." -- Leslie Parry, author of The Church of Marvels