Margot is the only survivor of a car accident that killed her entire family. The other orphans in the group home say she's lucky...lucky because she survived the accident and lucky to have her own room because of the screaming nightmares every night.
She's also lucky because the wealthy Sutton family has plucked her out of the group home and decided to take her in. They say her father once saved Mr. Sutton from drowning back when they were in law school. Margot is just relieved to be out of the group home where everyone seems to hate her.
But then she finds out the real reason she's there. The Sutton's once vivacious daughter is still as beautiful as ever, but Agatha seems to be in some kind of nonresponsive haze. She doesn't speak. She just sits and stares, and Margot gets the feeling Agatha doesn't want her there. But there's nowhere else to go.
They live in a mansion, but Laura Sutton expects Margot to live in the nursery with Agatha. At least she can sleep in the adjacent nanny's room and close the door. Agatha's strange blankness is disturbing at first, but as Margot spends more time with her, she begins to feel a connection to the mysterious girl. And Laura is no substitute for her own mother, but Margot appreciates her nightly visits and the hours they spend together in the gardens.
Even as she begins to settle in, strange things begin happening--eerie messages scrawled on her bedroom walls, and she seems to be losing hours in what seems like minutes. She tries to shake off the oddness of the old home, but there are secrets hidden in that house. Maybe in the closed-off green wing? Sometimes it seems like Agatha is trying to communicate, to warm Margot about something, but she can't figure out what.
When Agatha's older brother Barrett returns for a visit from boarding school, things really begin to change. Is it because they are both isolated and lonely? Margot doesn't know, but she is enjoying the company of a handsome boy in the house. She also knows Laura wouldn't approve of the heir to the fortune dating the charity orphan.
The longer she's there, the more isolated Margot becomes, and the strange incidents happen more frequently. Can she uncover the truth before it's too late?
Katie Alendar's new book is a modern gothic horror treat! She nails the tone perfectly with rules and the isolation of a country estate to keep the modern world out, and the grieving orphan is a quintessential gothic trope, so happy to have a place that she overlooks all the warning signs. It is perfectly claustrophobic and creepy! I could have done without the romance since it didn't really seem relevant to the plot. (It barely even comes back into play in the end.) Still, highly recommended, and this could serve as a bridge to more classic gothic horror like Rebecca by Daphne du Marier.
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