Morgan knew her father never killed her mother. She spent the last six years on a campaign for Owen’s release from prison. And now, in the middle of the pandemic, her father is free. Debt-riddled, they are no longer able to afford living in the family home—a home once decorated with her mother’s blood.
A chance to begin anew comes in the form of a dark and tall granite tower on the Cornish coastline. Called ‘The Folly’ by the locals, the place is deserted, and prone to break-ins. Now it needs a caretaker … food and bills included. Too good to refuse, Morgan and Owen jump at the opportunity, all too ready for a new start.
At first idyllic, the peace they find at The Folly is shattered by the arrival of a bald-headed stranger. This stranger acts like Morgan’s mother. Talks like her, even wears her dead mother’s clothes. They don’t know what he wants, or why he won’t leave them alone. Keeps mentioning the year 1976.
… what secrets does the Folly tower hold?
Why we’re excited about this book:
When it comes to emotionally charged fiction that gets under your skin, no one does it better than Gemma Amor. The author of Dear Laura, Girl on Fire, White Pines, The Once Yellow House, and Full Immersion, Amor’s short fiction is collected in Cruel Works of Nature, These Wounds We Make, and All Who Wander Are Lost: Destination Horror Stories, with short fiction appearing in such publications as Human Monsters, Damnation Games, Revelations: Horror Writers for Climate Action, and Lockdown: Stories of Crime, Terror, and Hope During a Pandemic. Amor co-edited (with Cynthia Pelayo and Laurel Hightower) the We Are Wolves anthology. With Amor’s latest, a woman and her father determined to escape their past realize the past refuses to let them go. Publishers Weekly says: “Amor’s slow-burn buildup to a feast of satisfying reveals will keep readers turning pages long into the night. This moody ghost story enchants.”, and Paste Magazine says: “One of horror’s most thrilling up-and-coming voices … The Folly feels like the perfect read for a dark December night, particularly if there’s a body of water nearby.”
Releasing from Datura Books 19 November 2024, The Folly by Gemma Amor is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA