About the Book
* SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUSTRALASIAN SHADOWS NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD *
'Eerie, atmospheric, full of suspense and surprises' - GUARDIAN
'A gothic-tinged tale with all the suspense and menace of page-turning crime fiction' - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
People come to visit my home and I love to show them around. It's not the original house of course. That was destroyed the day my entire family died. But I don't think their ghosts know the difference.
Pera Sinclair was nine the day her family home was destroyed, killing everyone inside. Over the decades she rebuilt Sinclair House, each room telling a piece of her story and that of the people who died there. And while she doesn't believe in ghosts, she's not above telling visitors a ghost story or two.
As Pera guides a family through her home on the last tour of the season, an unexpected group of men arrive. Dangerous men, who will hurt the family and see no reason to keep an old woman alive. But these men will learn that Pera is far from helpless. After all, death seems to follow wherever she goes...
Sinister and lyrical, The Underhistory is a haunting tale of loss, self-preservation and the darkness beneath.
About the Author :
Kaaron Warren is the author of the novels Slights, Walking the Tree, Mistification and The Grief Hole and the short story collections Through Splintered Walls, The Grinding House, and Dead Sea Fruit. Her short stories have won Australian Shadows Awards, Ditmar Awards and Aurealis Awards. She lives in Canberra, Australia.
Review :
Eerie, atmospheric, full of suspense and surprises, this is a brilliantly constructed, suspenseful gothic tale
The most intriguing horror novel of the year so far... Reads like Shirley Jackson or Catriona Ward at their most gothically playful. It's a wholly unique intellectual exercise and a deeply compelling page-turner
A gothic-tinged tale of supernatural horror and Scheherazade-like storytelling, with all the suspense and menace of page-turning crime fiction
An original take on the secrets that houses keep, with every page drenched in foreboding. The Underhistory has all the hallmarks of a contemporary gothic classic
A heartfelt and chilling gothic tragedy. Unbearably creepy, original and devastating
An inventive, layered haunted house novel, where ghosts reside amid the dust and each room holds its own message for the unwary visitor. Kaaron Warren is one of a kind
What an absolutely brilliant book this is! Superbly written, completely unique. Haunting, smart, and provoking
A unique jewel box of a book - tense locked room thriller meets haunted house gothic, pulled off with immense skill
A remarkable tour de force of a novel from a master storyteller. The structure of the novel is innovative and the tension never flags, while Pera is an extraordinary and satisfyingly ambiguous narrator. Startlingly good
Eerie, menacing, and totally original
A fascinating and unnerving character study of a house and its sole survivor. A sinister, tense, and satisfying read, I absolutely loved it
Strange, sinister and marvellously written. A box of Gothic delights
A vivid gallery of melancholy, joy, and horror. This book is infused with a love of places and objects, the stories they carry, and the stories they inspire. A vibrant heroine, loathsome villains, and a compelling setting make The Underhistory a haunting treasure, written by a master of her craft
Hauntingly creepy, this twisty, layered thriller will upend your expectations and spin you deep into a house of dark secrets. I utterly lost track of right and wrong, and was gunning all the way for my new favourite heroine
Warren wraps the reader in a fabric embroidered with tragedy and story, loss and memory. She enchants us with whimsy and lures us with hope, anchoring the past to the present with ordinary objects. The Underhistory is a triumph, intricately woven and mesmerisingly told
Suspenseful, evocative, dark and original. Highly recommended
A wonderfully weird and creepy journey through a haunted house, peppered with moments of proper darkness
Hauntingly dark and beautifully written, The Underhistory keeps you on edge throughout. There are moments of humour interspersed with tragedy and fear. A brilliant read with a wonderful protagonist
Sinuous, slippery, and wrong foots you at every turn. I've never read anything like it
An original - gorgeously written, and honestly, the tension of where it was going kept me on the edge of my seat
Unusual, clever, poetic, haunting and utterly thrilling
Totally unique, I haven't read anything like this for a long time, not since the heady days of Iain Banks' unpredictably dark novels. The sinister suspense that builds up as elderly Pera takes us on a tour of her ghostly family home is masterful. This book will stay with me for a long time
An elegant, Gothic delight with an eerie seam running through every page. Read on a dark, cold night if you dare
