Devil's Key

"[this] Florida native breathes life into all her characters -- dead or alive." --St. Augustine Record Lucy Fowler plans to spend winter break on an island off the coast of Florida, to finish writing her thesis. She needs one last interview with an elderly midwife. Lucy almost cancels the trip after she's brutally assaulted on campus. But in the end she goes, hoping work will be therapeutic. On remote, isolated Ibo Key, Lucy learns midwife Esther Day is now confined to a psychiatric ward. She also learns that there was once a thriving black community, Revelation, on the island. Its residents all vanished one night long ago. Lucy decides to write about the ghost town, but no one will talk about what happened. Eventually, she uncovers the terrible story behind the town's destruction. Esther's rival, Soulange, once owned a mysterious book . . . a centuries old grimoire revealing the arcana of Obeah. An odd little man tells Lucy the island is cursed. That every man, woman, and child on it will soon die. And she begins to see glimpses of the past. But by then she's stranded, trapped by a killer hurricane. To escape she must face her own connection to both the victims and perpetrators of a long-ago massacre . . . a crime so monstrous it invites the arrival of an evil old as time. Devil's Key was originally published by Egmont Boker, Oslo, in 1999 as Svart Frikt. This Northampton House Press trade paperback edition is the first in the English language.

About the Author :
ELISABETH GRAVES, descendent of an old Florida family, grew up in a small citrus-industry town not far from Disney World, her first employer. A former wardrobe assistant, theme-park waitress, seafood-joint cashier, graphic artist, advertising copywriter, and forensic librarian, she grew up in a somewhat haunted house on a Central Florida lake that's home to many an alligator and poisonous snake. She likes to read the headstone inscriptions in old cemeteries in her spare time. Black River, her first novel, was originally published in English by Berkley Books, New York, and in Norwegian by Fredhois Forlag, Oslo, as Sort Elv. Devil's Key was originally published by Egmont Boker, Oslo, in 1999 as Svart Frikt. This Northampton House Press trade paperback edition is the first in the English language.

Review :
Praise for Elisabeth Graves's first novel, BLACK RIVER: "Not a book to curl up with late at night . . . not if you want to get any sleep." -Edward Falco, author of Winter in Florida "Deliciously evil . . . [Graves] handles the genre with panache." --Florida Times-Union "Gripping . . . one of those 'can't stop reading' types of books. This novel will remain in your memory for a long, long time." -Patrick Smith, author of Forever Island "A compelling story told with swift skill . . . a maelstrom of black magic, conjuring, and suspense." -Page Edwards, author of The Search for Kate Duval "[This] Florida native breathes life into all her characters -- dead or alive." -St. Augustine Record