"Like Shirley Jackson, Carmen Maria Machado, and other evocative masters of the gothic, Perry circles closer to answers without ever dispelling the magic that holds her narrative in breathless suspense. A mysterious fable about honesty and deceit, love and self-loathing, and our sometimes-doomed quests for inner peace."
— Kirkus Reviews
“A beautiful, dream-like, unsettling narrative in which every word, like a small jewel, feels carefully chosen, considered and placed. Rarely do debut novels come as assured and impressive as this one.” — Sarah Waters
“A dark, marvelous novel…pour yourself a cool drink and bask in a dazzling new writing talent.” — Daily Telegraph
“Deeply creepy and startlingly well-written.” — Times Literary Supplement
“Inexplicably gripping from the first page …a hypnotic performance with an understated, dreamlike conviction.” — Sunday Times
"Impressive....Casts a spell that is at once sinister and seductive...We search for our own meaning while succumbing to Perry's elegant prose and dark magic." — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A taut summer thriller.” — Harper’s Bazaar
“Will haunt the reader long after the final page.” — Guardian
“An original and haunting book…a mix of elegant, alluring, but subtly sinister characters…a talented writer.” — Daily Mail (UK)
“Perry’s work harnesses the mythic power of religious and historical texts to lend weight and wonderment…she is adept at peeling back the skin to reveal a detailed anatomy of psychological motivation…A gripping, memorable, impressive debut.” — Independent on Sunday (UK)
"Atmospheric, haunting, disturbing." — Wall Street Journal