Books › Maplecroft
Maplecroft
448 pages
A dread-soaked historical fantasy where a notorious accused murderer turns her infamous weapon against the malevolent horrors rising from the sea.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like standing on a fog-drenched coastline, waiting for something terrible to emerge from the water. It blends the suffocating atmosphere of historical true crime with the creeping, oceanic dread of dark fantasy. The narrative moves with a steady, ominous momentum, pulling the reader into a secluded mansion shadowed by public suspicion and plagued by tides of madness. The prose balances the formal, restrained cadence of the late nineteenth century with sudden, visceral bursts of defiant violence. It is a deeply atmospheric experience that transforms a notorious historical figure into a resolute defender against malevolent entities. This is a perfect read for those who crave gothic isolation, oceanic nightmares, and fierce, axe-wielding anti-heroines.
- Mood
- dread-soaked
- eerie
- atmospheric
- shadowy
- Tone
- defiant
- ominous
- resolute
- dark
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- historical reimagining · oceanic dread · battling malevolence · isolation and suspicion · madness and nightmares
- The writing
- Atmospheric and chilling, blending the formal cadence of historical fiction with the creeping dread of dark fantasy.
- The arc
- Moves from the suffocating weight of public suspicion and past trauma into a fierce, axe-wielding stand against cosmic evil.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love gothic historical fantasy, true crime twists, and defiant anti-heroines facing down oceanic horrors.
Content notes
- murder
- violence
- madness
- parental death
About the book
Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one....
The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.
But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.
This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe.
Description from Open Library.
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