The Invocations

PROLOGUE

A GIRL walks home alone at night.
   It s All Hallows Eve in London, and the street that stretches before her is empty, quiet except for the soft thud of her boots on the sidewalk and the rustle of autumn leaves plucked by the wind. Hazy sodium lights struggle to shift the dark.
   The girl is dressed as a witch. Cartoon-green skin, pointy hat, a fake wart on her nose. She is coming from the Electric Ballroom, where, at a Halloween concert with her housemates, she saw the boy she likes kissing a girl dressed as a sexy angel. It immediately made her regret her costume and want to go home.
    Now she slips through the gap between two buildings, past the canal-side pub she goes to with her friends in the summer. A girl sits on the other side of a window decorated with bat decals, her face smeared with blood. A couple in matching hot-pink jumpsuits are breaking up on a bench.
    The girl takes a few steps onto the footbridge that leads over the water and down onto the towpath on the other side.
    It is here, on the bridge, that she pauses. The canal beneath her is a thin snake of shallow water. On a clear day, you can see the algae-coated detritus that collects at the bottom: the bicycles, the shopping trolleys, the tires. Tonight it is black and impenetrable. If you didn t know its depth, you might think it fathomless.
    Across the water, the bars and restaurants of Camden Market are still busy with the Halloween crowd. Men and women in costumes cluster around the spaceship-red glow of outdoor heaters, laughing, drinking mulled wine out of steaming mugs.
    Ahead, the footbridge slopes down to the towpath that winds alongside Regent s Canal, below street level.
    The girl hovers at the edge of the dark, weighing her options.
    Usually she avoids the canal after sunset. It is unlit. It is the kind of place

Krystal Sutherland

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Praise for The Invocations:
"Sutherland (House of Hollow) pits three teens against a monstrous evil in this devilishly bewitching novel steeped in dark academia and set in a fantasy London where only women wield magic. Vivid descriptions, mellifluous prose, expert pacing, and a slow-burning romance keep the tension high and the pages turning while intimately written character arcs probe themes of misogyny, grief, and dynamics of gender and power...the twisty, haunting tale unveils the chilling social inequities that disempower women."  Publishers Weekly, starred review

  Dark, twisty and beautifully written Readers will find themselves rooting for this ragtag team of wannabe witches [and] speeding through to reach the explosive, satisfying ending. Hand to mature readers who like a little LGBTQIA+ romance with their witchcraft and necromancy.  School Library Journal, starred review

"An empowering story about women fighting back against the violence of men and making the choice to forge one s own path in a hostile world, in addition to a grotesque murder mystery sprinkled with demonic deals. Readers hungry for their next dark, witchy, feminist read will have plenty to feast on here."  The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books¶

"Three young women team up to track down a serial killer who s targeting witches Sutherland expertly weaves together their lives in intricate and fascinating ways. Filled with feminist rage and a sprinkle of queer romance, this lushly written tale methodically builds to a heart-pounding confrontation The evocative body horror, distinct and compelling leads, and twisty plot will keep readers immersed in this grisly story.