The House Saphir - by Marissa Meyer

About the Book

The "Queen of Fairytale Retellings" is back! #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer weaves the tale of Bluebeard as it's never been told before. This is a thrilling romantasy and murder mystery, perfect for fans Meyer's Cinder and Heartless.

Book Synopsis

The "Queen of Fairytale Retellings" is back! #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer weaves the tale of Bluebeard as it's never been told before. This is a thrilling romantasy and murder mystery, perfect for fans Meyer's Cinder and Heartless.

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir--otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu--who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien's great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu's ghost, she can't resist. A paid vacation at Armand's country manor? It's practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation--and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she'll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest challenge: learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.

Review Quotes

A BookPage Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025
A Junior Library Guild Selection

★ "A girl who can see ghosts takes on a deadly challenge.... Meyer takes the classic French folktale "Bluebeard" and expertly sprinkles in ghosts and otherworldly creatures to create an eerie tale with a side of steamy romance. The characters are full-bodied, possessing either winsome or terrifying auras, while the setting beautifully conveys a bewitching ambiance. Bloody brilliant!"--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★"Meyer's bloody, beguiling version of the Bluebeard story is replete with a fraudulent witch, a handsome count, not one but two haunted mansions, four dead wives, and an array of mythical French monsters. The House Saphir is magical, spooky, and romantic and suspensefully unfolds through the actions of feisty characters with unexpectedly excellent comedic timing.....spellbinding."--Shelf Awareness, starred review

"[W]isecracking ghosts, witty third-person narration, and feisty, funny heroines amply entertain. Shocking twists confound, while Armand and Mallory's flirtation adds fizz."--Publishers Weekly

"This spirited retelling of the Bluebeard myth is full of slight scares and an undercurrent of humor (Saphir's first wife, Triphine, is hilarious as a ghost). Meyer has been a commercial success in every genre she's tried (especially fairy tale retellings), and this is no exception." -- Booklist

"A unique pick for fairy tale and folklore fans."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

"Meyer fans and new readers alike will find much to love in this spooky, atmospheric read."--School Library Journal

About the Author

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles series, the New York Times-bestselling Renegades trilogy, and the duology Gilded and Cursed, as well as the graphic novels Wires and Nerve: Vol. 1 and 2, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book. Her first standalone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times bestseller, and her most recent rom-coms are Instant Karma and With a Little Luck. Her first middle-grade novel is Let It Glow, written with Joanne Levy. Marissa hosted a popular podcast, "The Happy Writer," and her book of the same name shares her writing tips and experiences. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters. marissameyer.com