This Cursed House
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Summary
A young woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: they're under a curse
‘A sinister and beautifully rendered Southern Gothic, This Cursed House explores the real-life horrors of racism and trauma. Del Sandeen’s stunning debut haunted me’ Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching
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Louisiana, 1962.
The Duchon family has always been a little different.
Light-skinned enough to pass as white, they’ve always felt superior to their black peers, ensconced in their palatial but decrepit New Orleans mansion.
Meanwhile in Chicago, Jemma Barker is desperate to escape another winter in the freezing cold – and the spirits she has always been able to see.
When Jemma receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family, she can’t say yes soon enough.
But it’s not long before Jemma realises she’s been lured south under false pretences. The Duchon family are trapped in their home by a curse – and they have reason to believe Jemma is the one who can break it.
What’s more, it turns out Jemma didn’t manage to leave her ghosts behind in Chicago. And the spirits that haunt the Duchon mansion have a message for her.
As she tries to understand how to break the curse, Jemma unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the Duchons and their damning past.
Secrets that stretch back beyond the grave.
Secrets that tie her to the family’s fate if she fails . . .
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Praise for This Cursed House:
‘An absolute marvel of a debut from a prodigious talent. A richly atmospheric, utterly chilling ghost story, an enthralling puzzle box of family scandals and secrets – that's also an unflinching examination of the insidiousness of racism, the horrors of colorism’ Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep and Such Sharp Teeth
‘An enthralling, twisty Southern Gothic historical full of family secrets and century-spanning sins. A remarkable debut’ Eden Royce, award-winning author of Root Magic
‘An inglorious remnant of American history is handled so deftly that you won't believe it's Del Sandeen's first novel’ Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor
Reviews
An absolute marvel of a debut from a prodigious talent. This Cursed House is a richly atmospheric, utterly chilling ghost story, an enthralling puzzle box of family scandals and secrets—that's also an unflinching examination of the insidiousness of racism, the horrors of colorism, and how the toxicity of hate is a curse that traps us all with the worst of ourselves. A spellbinding Southern gothic.
Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep and Such Sharp Teeth