In this moody debut, a 10-year-old girl comes to live with a childless couple at Salt Winds, their home on the edge of a beautiful but dangerous marsh. Virginia takes to her adoptive father at once, but it's clear the marsh isn't the only thing to fear in her new home situation, and soon her worst fears are realized, both natural and man-made. Brooks does an incredible job building and sustaining the creepy gothic atmosphere, even if I was less satisfied with the resolution than the setting. I look forward to reading what she writes next.

With a compelling narrator, absorbing atmosphere, and loads of literary references, this modern gothic novel is a stunner. While attending her cousin’s wedding in the gardens of Byrne Hall, a drunken Freya can’t resist stumbling into the off-limits house to investigate. When she ducks inside she discovers a startling portrait on display: it looks just like her sister Stella, who, years before, died mere miles from the historic seaside grounds. Once safely home in London, Freya can’t get the house—or its portrait—out of her head. When she returns to investigate, she gets tangled up with the residing family and their eerie house—and the consequences could be disastrous. Read this if you love a brooding character study or a slower-paced mystery with a strong sense of place. (Content warnings include suicide and abuse.)