Verushka

In this ambitious, generation-spanning horror novel from Stinchcomb (The Kelping), an old family curse is brought to bear in the present as teenager Devon Woodward is pursued by a mysterious woman who aims to exact a terrible price for the sins of the past. After a tumultuous childhood involving otherworldly visions (“Devon has witches and fairies and ghosts in her world. They come to her at different times. At night she sees them in the dark corners, and in the daylight she sees them in the trees”) and a house burnt to the ground, Devon is on the cusp of puberty and living with her family in an isolated chalet when she begins sleepwalking and seeing a Verushka, a white-haired phantom who appears whenever she’s at her most vulnerable. To help her, Devon’s parents must delve into their own troubled pasts, uncovering secrets that might hold the key to keeping their daughter safe. Through evocative prose, Stinchcomb establishes a mounting sense of claustrophobia as the tension ratchets up. The novel’s reach sometimes exceeds its grasp, however, and many of the story’s folk horror elements feel underutilized as the plot nears its conclusion. Still, the punchy climax will more than satisfy fans looking for a supernatural showdown. Fans of T. Kingfisher’s The Twisted Ones will want to check this out. (Aug.)