'Absorbing' Sunday Times, Historical Fiction Picks

'I was blown away by this dark, enchanting story of witchcraft, power and injustice' Mary Chamberlain

'A mesmerising combination of gothic horror and elegant restraint' Francesca De Tores, author of Saltblood

Members of Countess Bathory's household have been sent out to gather new serving girls and the kindly old man who gave Boroka a home as a baby knows that it is dangerous to turn them away. As the 15-year-old girl reluctantly leaves the safety of the only home she has ever known in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, the future looks uncertain - and dangerous.

Boroka is frightened of the countess's reputation and the whispers of cruelty and unexplained deaths. She finds the women who run Cachtice Castle terrifyingly cold and the other girls are as scared as she is. Despite this, Boroka slowly begins to find her feet - until a bout of plague breaks out at the castle.

Powerful forces are moving against a woman whose wealth poses such a threat to the king. And when the show trial begins against the infamous 'Blood Countess' where will Boroka's loyalties really lie?