“With her latest, Pearce digs into the life of a child psychologist desperate to help a young girl, while the townspeople embrace superstitious traditions and witchcraft.”
With a fresh degree in hand, child psychologist Mina is having a difficult time getting her feet wet in her profession. Lately, she’s been spending her days avoiding the heat wave attacking Britain and worrying about her upcoming marriage. She also attends a local bereavement group to help her cope with the death of her brother a few years back. Then Mina meets a journalist at the grief support group who has a proposition, and her world changes.
Thirteen year old Alice Webber believes she is being haunted by a witch. Her symptoms are increasingly disturbing, and her family doesn’t have much money. This job would give Mina the experience she needs for her profession, and Sam will get a juicy scoop in the process. And Mina is convinced she can help Alice get better.
But Alice doesn’t improve. In fact, her behavior becomes more erratic and intense. The town she lives in, Banathel, is no help, with its history of witchcraft. The townspeople believe there’s evil in the world, and they believe there were ways of dealing with it, ways they don’t expect outsiders to ever understand. As Mina tries to uncover the real reason behind Alice’s condition, Benathal’s cracks begin to appear. How deep do their sinister traditions go, and is Mina’s own past the darkest threat of all?
Why we’re excited about this book:
With early buzz of her new novel reading like a mix of The Haunting of Hill House and Midsommar, it’s easy to see why Daisy Pearce is a horror writer to keep your eyes on for 2025. The author of The Silence and The Missing, Pearce’s short fiction has been featured in such publications as One Eye Grey magazine and adapted for the stage at the Small Story Cabaret in Lewes. With her latest, Pearce digs into the life of a child psychologist desperate to help a young girl, while the townspeople embrace superstitious traditions and witchcraft. Fangoria Magazine says: “Pearce harnesses every sentence into a weapon … the overarching storyline is that of a classic folk horror, composed in a concise, razor-edged narrative. Pearce gives just enough to let your imagination go haywire, resulting in crushing creepiness and paranoia.”, and Kristi DeMeester (Such a Pretty Smile) calls Something in the Walls “A harrowing and moving examination of how our ghosts never truly leave us. I’m a sucker for British folk horror, but Pearce has written something magical with the capacity of leaving me genuinely frightened. There are scenes in this book I’ll never forget.”
Releasing from Minotaur Books 25 February 2025, Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA
