Sofia disappeared five years ago, found stuffed into the hollow of a tree bursting through the floorboards of a decrepit house in the woods. Now the women who loved her come home to North Carolina to face their grief.
Poppy’s heart is broken. Cass is homesick. Frankie, Sofia’s twin, is furious. Marya knows something unknown to the others. They’re determined to find who killed Sofia, and they share more than a need for justice. These women are haunted, bound to each other by something cruel yet kind. They’re all stalked by a shadowy presence they do not understand.
Sofia’s secrets come to the light, as well as those secrets of the woods. The women realize Sofia wasn’t who they thought she was at all. Whoever—whatever—killed Sofia, is coming for them.
Why we’re excited about this book:
New to the horror scene, Mallory Pearson is ready to hit the ground running with her first novel. Pearson’s short fiction has been featured in such publications as Haverthorn Press, Capsule Stories, and Electric Literature. In Pearson’s debut novel, four women face their grief, and something deadly sinister, while investigating the strange murder of their friend. Tegan Beese at Library Journal says: “With stunning prose, Pearson draws readers into the lives of her characters and weaves a horror-esque fantasy tale.”, and Marisa Crane (I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself) says: “Written with gorgeous, hypnotic prose, We Ate the Dark is a piece of uncategorizable beauty and a masterclass in suspense: a ghost story inside a mystery inside a story of queer love, friendship, and family. Pearson has added to the queer horror canon with a deeply felt, deeply human masterpiece about grief, magic, connection, and all the things that keep us coming back to one another. Spooky, tender, and heartbreaking, it’ll have you turning the pages like an incantation.”
Releasing from 47North 1 February 2024, We Ate the Dark by Mallory Pearson is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA