A GUEST IN THE HOUSE by Emily Carroll (First Second Books, Aug 2023)

After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder . . . was Sheila’s death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.

Select praise for A GUEST IN THE HOUSE:

Booklist starred review: “Carroll brings her deliciously disquieting style to this gothic tale of a new marriage and the sinister secrets lurking beneath the veneer of cozy domesticity.”
NPR review: “What makes Carroll’s work such a compelling read are the visuals, which are consistently surprising and expertly move from one stylistic tactic to the next, each creating its own particular mood. A Guest in the House rests on atmosphere, delivering an uncanny, wild ride.”
“Emily Carroll is the master of comics horror, we can only thank whoever blessed/cursed her with the gift to creep under the skin and thrill with visceral image as only she can. Reading A Guest in the House is to feel small and sad and longing, but curious, sensual, forbidden - then terrified, trapped, racing to an end you can’t look away from. I loved it, of course I did!!”
- Kate Beaton, creator of Ducks
“With the hypnotically brilliant A Guest in the House, phantasmagoria meets family psychodrama. I’m left agape and haunted, and wanting more.”
- Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World