In the early 1900s, a young gardener at a lush English manor falls in love with her employer whose past is shrouded in deadly secrets—from the author of the “twisty, Gothic thriller” (Entertainment Weekly) Spitting Gold.
1922, Wiltshire: When Vee Morgan accepts the job of gardener at a crumbling stately home in southwest England, she’s hoping it’s a fresh start.
But Harfold Manor is shadowed by its own grief and the memories of long-faded glory, its rooms haunted by the only surviving member of the family, Lady Arabella Lascy. Vee is fascinated by her enigmatic new employer, a woman obsessed with the curse she believes has killed her family one by one and is coming for her next. Her only hope for escape is a local folktale: the elusive dancing hare that gave her ancestor its blessing and the house its name.
But even as Vee falls deeper under the thrall of Harfold and Lady Arabella, her own dark past finally catches up to her in this lush and atmospheric novel.
"The family secrets of both women haunt this twisty gothic. Recommended for readers of Sarah Waters, Adrienne Young, and Catriona Ward who like books with darkness around every corner and inside every character." —Booklist
“A Slow and Secret Poison is Sapphic Gothic at its finest: it tricks and deceives the reader, charms you into one version of the story, frightens you with omens of a certain kind of evil, then flips the table over and makes you question everything—and everyone—you believed, and the nature of evil itself.” —The Lesbrary
"I was utterly captivated—a truly compelling, immersive tale. If Agatha Christie and Shirley Jackson had ever teamed up to write a novel, it would have turned out like this: intricately plotted, seductive, and sinister." —Naomi Kelsey, author of The Burnings
“Carmella Lowkis has a true talent for the creeping gothic. Her characters are alluring and settings entrancing. A Slow and Secret Poison conjures the uncertainty and dark potential of the interbellum in Great Britain in a thoroughly engrossing way. For fans of Sarah Waters, A Slow and Secret Poison is a must.” —Emma Hinds, author of The Knowing
“A Slow and Secret Poison is one of the best gothic novels the genre has to offer. Twisty, erotic, and atmospheric, this one is sure to linger long after you have finished reading.” —Johanna van Veen, author of Blood on Her Tongue and My Darling Dreadful Thing
