The Depths

Eulalie Island is crescent shaped, its inner edge a powdered sugar beach lined with swaying palm trees. Beyond the palms lies a forest so lush and vibrant that the word green doesn t feel adequate to describe it. The scent of dead seaweed and tropical flowers floods my nostrils and lungs, filling them with an itchy need to cough.

Beside me, the seaplane bobs, tethered to the dock. It was a long journey from Saint Thomas, soaring over islands and islands that grew smaller and flatter until they were just sandbars, then gone. For a long time, we floated through a cloudless sky over an endless ocean, and there was nothing but blue. It took every ounce of my strength to not yank the plane door open and dive into that blue.

But I didn t. And now we re here. At the private island that s going to be my private prison for the next two weeks. I m the third wheel on my mother s honeymoon with a man who wears pressed khaki shorts and belts with little whales on them. She was too afraid to leave me alone with my injuries after the accident, and I d never admit this out loud, but I m glad she didn t.

Come on, sweetie! She waves from the beach, her other arm wrapped around David s waist. It doesn t feel right that one twenty-­minute ceremony can make you someone s daughter, step-­ or not. But she s been planning this honeymoon for almost a year, and I am not going to ruin the trip for her. I pull an elastic off my wrist and twist my sweaty, light brown hair into a knot on top of my head.

Go ahead, Addie. Ken Carpenter, the island s bearded caretaker, leaps onto the seaplane to help the pilot with our suitcases. Melinda will get you folks settled in at the house, and we ll bring your bags up.

You re going to love it. His wife, a woman in a billowing caftan with silver-­streaked hair, gives me a sympathetic smile. Everyone here seems to already know about my accident, which is both embarrassing and a relief because I won t have to explain

Nicole Lesperance

 "Full of Victorian storytelling elements and tinged with drama and danger, this story will ensnare readers with its lush setting and mysterious air. Lesperance effortlessly builds a beautiful, menacing world into which readers will willing dive headlong." Booklist, starred review

Readers will dive in so deep they might forget to come up for air. Kirkus Reviews

This dark, lushly written story is beautiful enough to keep you completely mesmerized...right up until the moment when it pulls you below the surface and leaves you gasping for air. Ginny Myers Sain, author of Dark and Shallow Lies

The Depths is a horror gem that breathes new life into the gothic genre. With a resilient but shaken heroine, a vibrant setting that's both claustrophobic and expansive, and a plot with as many twists and turns as the tangled jungle around them, this enchanting novel holds your hand and guides you into its dark heart with ease. Lesperance's brilliant and terrifying novel is not one I'll soon forget. Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the Dark

Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood and Wilder Girls, The Depths weaves an enchanting and unsettling spell that will grip you like the most tenacious vine. Creeping, vibrant and insidious I loved it! Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake

A gorgeous, terrifying story. Eulalie Island is the perfect tropical getaway...just don't be surprised if it never lets you leave. Katrina Leno, author of Horrid

"It's hard to think of another book as gorgeously written as The Depths. I was completely mesmerized by the beautifully haunting island and its eerie inhabitants. Utterly enthralling!" Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties and The Obsession

Just like the island where it takes place, The Depths will lure you in with its spell-binding combination of beauty and peril. Mesmerized by the lush setting and vertiginous twists, you may