Readers' rating:
Publishes
Jan 16, 2024
464 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
A teen girl and her family return to her mother's childhood home, only to discover that the house's strange beauty may disguise a sinister past, in this contemporary gothic horror from the author of What We Harvest.
The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That's what Libby's mom said. And after Libby's recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.
But Libby's new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.
Libby's mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family's perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.
We all wear masks—to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself—and everyone she loves.
"A compelling, darkly creative, and intensely haunting examination of the masks we wear." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An expertly woven narrative that is both a frightening slow-burn psychological thriller and a nuanced and touching exploration of the complicated aftermath of trauma." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"As a seasoned fan of the haunted house genre, I thought I knew what I was in for when I started this book, but Fraistat surprised me at every turn. Every bug-riddled, mask-filled page of A Place for Vanishing is vivid, original, and absolutely compelling." —Erica Waters, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of The River Has Teeth
"Brimming with eerie atmosphere and insects most foul, A Place for Vanishing gave me the best shivers! I loved exploring the hidden stairwells and long-kept secrets of Madame Clery's House of Masks, and so will you." —Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin
"With her chillingly inventive take on the haunted house, Fraistat takes us through a (stained) glass darkly in A Place for Vanishing." —Amy Goldsmith, author of Those We Drown
"Riveting and sublimely creepy, A Place for Vanishing unearths a haunting family legacy chilling layer by chilling layer, revealing an explosive truth that will have you racing to the last page." —Amanda Glaze, bestselling author of The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond
This information about A Place for Vanishing was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ann Fraistat is an author, playwright, and narrative designer. Her co-author credits include plays such as Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending, and alternate reality games sponsored by the National Science Foundation. When not engrossed in fictional worlds on her laptop, Ann has worked on stages across the DC-area as an actor and director. Other loves include all things spooky, baking, and drinking as much tea as possible. She is the author of What We Harvest and A Place for Vanishing.
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