The Decadence: An unnerving novel of summer debauchery

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‘A triumph of the queer gothic’ Jane Flett, author of Freakslaw’Seductive and surprising at every turn’Caitlin Blackwell Baines, author of How to Build a Haunted House’Lush, sinister and blackly funny’ Kate Collins, author of A Good House for ChildrenAt the height of lockdown, six friends make an illicit break for freedom. They’re determined to enjoy their summer at Holt House, even if that means ignoring the deep fractures in their group. Jan is secretly sleeping with Nadya, whose boyfriend, Theo – ever the gracious host – just wants everyone to get high. Kara and Luke can’t stop fighting, and Jan’s ex-lover, Ursie, feels out of place among their excess and privilege. As tempers flare and old wounds reopen, their friendship begins to strain – politics, racism, antisemitism, sex and lies. And with drugs and desires blurring in the shadows of the house, a more ominous force threatens to ruin their trip… ‘Both a deeply unnerving read and a sly commentary on the skeletons in Britain’s closet’Victoria Gosling, author of Bliss & Blunder’A drug-fuelled cross between The Decameron and The Haunting of Hill House … Craig at her unsettling best’Hesse Phillips, author of Lightborne’Lush, complex, and close to the bone, The Decadence filled me with horror in the best way’Krystelle Bamford, author of Idle Grounds