Catherine House: A Novel

“[A] delicious literary Gothic debut.” –THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, EDITORS' CHOICE“Moody and evocative as a fever dream, Catherine House isthe sort of book that wraps itself around your brain, drawing you closer witheach hypnotic step.” – THE WASHINGTON POSTA Most AnticipatedNovel by EntertainmentWeekly • New York magazine • Cosmopolitan • TheAtlantic• Forbes • GoodHousekeeping • Parade • Better Homes and Gardens • HuffPost• Buzzfeed • Newsweek • Harper’s Bazaar • Ms. Magazine• Woman's Day • PopSugar • and more!Agothic-infused debut of literary suspense, set within a secluded, eliteuniversity and following a dangerously curious, rebellious undergraduate whouncovers a shocking secret about an exclusive circle of students . . . and thedark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige.Trust us, you belong here.CatherineHouse is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods ofrural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with itsexperimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidableendowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors,artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky fewselected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price.Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completelyremoved from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even theirclothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future ofsublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything oranyone they desire.Amongthis year’s incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nightsof parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectualdiscipline—only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even theschool’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expandtheir minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine.For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had. But the House’sstrange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weatheredleather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Inesbegins to suspect that the school—in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history,advanced theories, and controlled decadence—might be hiding a dangerous agendawithin the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its mostpromising and mysterious curriculum.Combiningthe haunting sophistication and dusky, atmospheric style of Sarah Waters withthe unsettling isolation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, CatherineHouse is a devious, deliciously steamy, and suspenseful page-turnerwith shocking twists and sharp edges that is sure to leave readers breathless. Read more