“The creeping pace, melancholic tone, and full-bodied characters create a perfect snapshot of desperate youth amid oppressive tradition. This stands among the best of the current modern gothic trend.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Donohue is a master of clean, sharp prose, and has a hugely impressive ability to create layers of atmosphere or ratchet up tension in a couple of beguilingly simple sentences.” – The Irish Times
The Temple House Vanishing
By Rachel Donohue
Genre: Contemporary/Mystery
Paperback, 304 pages
Available July 6, 2021 from Algonquin Books
Synopsis: Perched high atop a seaside cliff in Ireland, a lonely Victorian mansion is home to Temple House School. And at Temple House, nothing is ever as it seems.
Louisa is the new, brilliant scholarship student. Finding most of the other students at the all-girls Catholic boarding school as icy and unfamiliar as the drafty mansion, she forms a fierce bond with the intense and compelling Victoria, an outlier and student provocateur.
Their close bond is soon unsettled by the young, charismatic art teacher, Mr. Lavelle—igniting tension and obsession in the cloistered world of the school. Then one day, Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear.
Doesn’t this sound like a great, creepy story? Who is Mr. Lavelle and what happened to him and Louisa? I just received a copy of this book and am looking forward to reading it. Let me know if it’s on your radar.
This was actually a good debut. I wasn’t sure what to expect as it seemed like a YA genre from the description but, it was good.
It’s that atmospheric and isolated setting that really makes me want to read this one. 🙂
Diane – I just read your review and am really looking forward to this one. I think it would be a great choice for the R.I.P. challenge!
Lark – The setting does make for a perfect thriller right? Hope you get a chance to read it!