A sinister tale of haunting beauty, from The Outcast author Sadie Jones. She was obeying a prompt, an instinct: the instinct that makes a dog lying by the fire tremble of a sudden, and whimper, when there is no one near to see. The cake is iced. The wine decanted. The house gleams invitingly. But as Sterne prepares for Emerald Torrington's birthday supper, who are the pale strangers struggling silently up the drive? A supernatural comedy and spellbinding thriller, The Uninvited Guests strips away the respectable layers of Edwardian society to reveal the dark secrets beneath. 'What a delicious read! Like something written by a wicked Jane Austen. Passing like a spring fever, here is a fairy tale that stays with you long after it is gone.' Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress
One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor—and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.
Evening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens: Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking.
The Uninvited Guests is the bewitching new novel from the critically acclaimed Sadie Jones. The prizewinning author triumphs in this frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises—where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety—and all is alight with Edwardian wit and opulence.
