Blithe Hill - by Anna Carew (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Kate McBride is desperate for a new position; recently fired, she's wrecked her car and exhausted the goodwill of her best friend. Fortunately, Jesse Reynolds is equally desperate to hire a new nanny for his wards at Blithe Hill. The estate is beautiful, and Kate longs to make it her home, but the children are feral, disappearing at odd hours of the night and whispering in their secret language. Kate is confident her expertise in child development and fondness for children will bring order to the chaos until the water ripples with no wind--she knows the signs--and she understands she's dealing with the bloody stain of a century-old murder and the presence of something cruel and malevolent. As Kate ventures deeper into Blithe Hill's secrets, eager to decode the ghost's intentions, she stumbles into the shadows of her own past, and the children understand. She can't keep them safe.

Review Quotes

"Blithe Hill is a gorgeous, gothic journey into the treacherous terrain of the human mind. When Kate meets young Mila and Florian, her charges on an old Connecticut estate, her sense of reality and skills as a caregiver are tested. In an isolated, snow-covered setting, this reader ran willingly into danger only to find out that we are, all of us, haunted. Anna Carew's ability to build an unreliable, yet beautifully precise world is chillingly unique."
--Rachel Eve Moulton, author of Tantrum

"Deftly paced and skillfully plotted, Blithe Hill is the kind of story that tightens its fist with such grace and ease that you won't know you're caught until it's too late. With an assured narrative voice and a keen eye for slippery characters you can't quite pin down, Anna Carew has written an enthralling novel replete with surprise. Don't sleep on this gripping debut."
--Nathan Gower, author of The Act of Disappearing

"Carew's unsettling horror debut will pull you into a dreamlike, tense trance that won't let you go until the last page. I adored the themes of womanhood and monsterhood and the way Carew weaves the two together and leaves you wondering if the protagonist is the victim or the one with claws."
--Jenna Satterthwaite, author of Made for You

"Blithe Hill transfixes. Like the mansion at its center, it's an entrancing structure built with precision, filled with gothic mystery that draws in a heroine who, herself, is full of secrets."
--Gillian Daniels, Author of Jenny Will Eat You Now

"Blithe Hill is a slow burn of creeping dread and simmering uncertainty that kept me questioning what was going on until the very end. An unsettling exploration of fear and perception, where nothing is as it seems. Chilling and haunting!"
--Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of The Guest in Room 120

"Anna Carew's debut is a subtle, nervy masterclass in modern gothic. You may think you've seen this house, met this nanny and her unsettling charges, walked these isolated grounds--but with every turn of the page, your footing grows less stable, until Carew has you in a death grip of uncertainty and tension, and all you can do is follow Kate, Mila, and Florian into the darkest corners of Blithe Hill."
--Jaq Evans, author of What Grows in the Dark

"An old house, unsettling children, and the strong sense that something isn't quite right--perfect gothic vibes. Tinged with atmosphere, Blithe Hill keeps you guessing until the very end."
--Dana Elmendorf, a GMA Buzz Pick author of the novel Grave Birds

About the Author

Anna Carew got her start in publishing as a reader, first with an internship for David Charles in England, then as a researcher for Chelsea House in New Haven. She started writing for publication while earning a PhD in English and has several articles published in juried academic journals. While teaching literature to high school students, she continued to write, including numerous titles of children's nonfiction for a book packager (Mason Crest) and marketing copy for independent schools. Currently, Anna lives in Albuquerque, NM, and writes darkly atmospheric fiction for adult readers.