Hawthorn

For fans of Michelle Paver and Sarah Waters, the first in a haunting quartet of ghost stories set in the wilds of Scotland.

'I was so impressed by Hawthorn' MICHELLE PAVER, author of Dark Matter

'Reminded me of The Little Stranger . . . a hugely entertaining and evocative treat' BRIDGET COLLINS, author of The Binding

'A new classic' SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Fair Botanists


Caithness, October 1871.

The Ordnance Survey are charting Scotland's most remote north-easterly county, a bleak landscape of endless moorland and lonely crofts. When a strange vision leads cartographer Robert Sutherland out onto the moor, an accident leaves him inches from death. He is taken to Leask House, to recuperate under the care of Mrs Sinclair and her beautiful daughter Isabel.

At first, Robert thinks the dreadful visions that plague him at Leask House are the result of the laudanum he has been prescribed. But as events take ever stranger and more terrifying turns, Robert begins to wonder whether his presence at Leask House is really a coincidence at all.

Someone - or something - has summoned him here.

And they don't intend for him to leave.

I was so impressed by Hawthorn. Elaine Thomson's style is elegant and highly readable, her period detail is deftly touched in, and she immerses the reader in the unsettling atmosphere of her remote, marshy setting -- MICHELLE PAVER, author of WAKENHYRST
A new classic -- SARA SHERIDAN, author of THE FAIR BOTANISTS
Chilling and enthralling - Elaine Thomson at the top of her game -- Olga Wojtas, author of MISS BLAINE'S PREFECT
I loved Hawthorn. It succeeds on so many levels: ghost story, thriller, brilliantly realised historical setting and acute psychological study. At the centre of everything, invading our senses from beginning to end, are the haunting, haunted black peat bogs of the wild Caithness moors. Bravo! I can't wait for the rest of the series. -- SALLY MAGNUSSON, author of THE NINTH CHILD
Hawthorn is a joy - if I can say that about such a creepy, atmospheric, menacing book - and reminded me of The Mist in the Mirror and The Little Stranger, which are two of my very favourite novels. I particularly loved the vividness of the setting - the sense of place as a character in itself - and the narrative voice, with its sly not-quite-trustworthy ambiguity. It's a hugely entertaining and evocative treat for anyone who loves ghost stories. -- BRIDGET COLLINS, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE BINDING
I have long loved Elaine Thomson's work and Hawthorn is no exception. You'll find a masterful rendering of time and place, a compelling central character, a vivid supporting cast - and best of all - the promise of more books in the quartet to come. Twisty, atmospheric and unsettling, this is an absolute fireside treat -- JESS KIDD, author of THE NIGHT SHIP
Hawthorn is one of the most deliciously eerie ghost stories you'll ever read; a tale of the Uncanny soaked in the icy darkness of the north-east, it's a deadly bog that sucks you in and freezes your breath with every beautifully chilling word! -- LESLEY MCDOWELL, author of CLAIRMONT
I thoroughly enjoyed Hawthorn. It was creepily addictive and visually stunning and authentic in its descriptions of place and time. A great read. -- LIN ANDERSON, author of the Rhona MacLeod series

Elaine Thomson is a Scottish author, who has written several historical novels under the name E. S. Thomson. Her work has been longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and shortlisted for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Arts Council First Book Award and the William McIlvanney Crime Book of the Year Award. Hawthorn is the first in a planned quartet of ghost stories, all set in Scotland during the four 'turning points' of the year: Samhain, midwinter, midsummer and the spring equinox.

Elaine has a PhD in the social history of medicine, and works as a university lecturer by day, and writes by night. She lives in Edinburgh with her two sons.

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