“With this new novel, Kurtagich presents seven sisters trapped in an arcane heritage, unable to escape the embrace of the ancient darkness coming for them.”
The seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandparents after their parents are tragically killed. The remote forest island of Beltane is suspended between shadow and time, and what starts as a place to grieve turns into a surreal nightmare, as they awaken the Forgotten God of the Wood, Daudir.
After another cruel tragedy comes, and the sisters must fend for themselves, learning to live on the island, death a constant presence. The sisters become more isolated, and the forest around them grows more restless.
Years later, the sisters receive a strange letter summoning them back home. Soon they are drawn back into the embrace of that dangerous faith, confronting a truth more painful than memory and the deadly secret that waits, silent and sentient, in the depths of the all-seeing trees.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Over the past few years, Dawn Kurtagich has built an impressive catalogue of horror for YA and adult readers alike. The author of And the Trees Crept In, Teeth in the Mix, The Dead House, Blood on the Wind, and The Madness, Kurtagich’s short fiction has been featured in such publications as A Taste of Darkness. With this new novel, Kurtagich presents seven sisters trapped in an arcane heritage, unable to escape the embrace of the ancient darkness coming for them. Josh Winning (Burn the Negative) calls The Seventh Sister “A sensory fever dream that’s like Yellowjackets meets We Have Always Lived in the Castle. This is easily my favorite Dawn Kurtagich book yet—a piercingly emotional and atmospheric folk horror that perfectly captures the love and ache of sisterhood. This story crawled inside me and took root, and I’m certain it will never let go.”, and Clay McLeod Chapman (Wake Up and Open Your Eyes) says: “Dawn Kurtagich has rendered a tender effigy of a novel, a beguiling totem teetering between belief and mania, faith and fury, horror and absolute wonder. The Seventh Sister isn’t just a beautiful book―it’s a bible. Read it and share in our awe.”
Releasing from Thomas & Mercer 7 April 2026, The Seventh Sister by Dawn Kurtagich is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA
