Hawthorn
On sale
25th September 2025
Price: £24.99
For fans of Michelle Paver and Sarah Waters, the first in a haunting quartet of ghost stories set in the wilds of Scotland.
‘I was so impressed by Hawthorn‘ MICHELLE PAVER, author of Dark Matter
‘Delightfully brooding and gloriously gothic, Hawthorn sucked me in like the deepest bog, refusing to let me go’ CJ COOKE, author of The Book of Witching
‘Reminded me of The Little Stranger . . . a hugely entertaining and evocative treat‘ BRIDGET COLLINS, author of The Binding
‘A new classic’ SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Fair Botanists
‘The best Scottish ghost story of the 21st century so far’ THE HERALD
_________
Caithness, October 1871.
The Ordnance Survey are charting Scotland’s most remote north-easterly county, a bleak landscape of endless moorland and lonely crofts. When a strange vision leads cartographer Robert Sutherland out onto the moor, an accident leaves him inches from death. He is taken to Leask House, to recuperate under the care of Mrs Sinclair and her beautiful daughter Isabel.
At first, Robert thinks the dreadful visions that plague him at Leask House are the result of the laudanum he has been prescribed. But as events take ever stranger and more terrifying turns, Robert begins to wonder whether his presence at Leask House is really a coincidence at all.
Someone – or something – has summoned him here.
And they don’t intend for him to leave.
‘I was so impressed by Hawthorn‘ MICHELLE PAVER, author of Dark Matter
‘Delightfully brooding and gloriously gothic, Hawthorn sucked me in like the deepest bog, refusing to let me go’ CJ COOKE, author of The Book of Witching
‘Reminded me of The Little Stranger . . . a hugely entertaining and evocative treat‘ BRIDGET COLLINS, author of The Binding
‘A new classic’ SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Fair Botanists
‘The best Scottish ghost story of the 21st century so far’ THE HERALD
_________
Caithness, October 1871.
The Ordnance Survey are charting Scotland’s most remote north-easterly county, a bleak landscape of endless moorland and lonely crofts. When a strange vision leads cartographer Robert Sutherland out onto the moor, an accident leaves him inches from death. He is taken to Leask House, to recuperate under the care of Mrs Sinclair and her beautiful daughter Isabel.
At first, Robert thinks the dreadful visions that plague him at Leask House are the result of the laudanum he has been prescribed. But as events take ever stranger and more terrifying turns, Robert begins to wonder whether his presence at Leask House is really a coincidence at all.
Someone – or something – has summoned him here.
And they don’t intend for him to leave.
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Reviews
Hawthorn is unsettling and wonderfully atmospheric. A combination of dark psychology and inexplicable happenings will keep you guessing. Victorian gothic at its best.
Chilling and enthralling - Elaine Thomson at the top of her game
Delightfully brooding and gloriously gothic, Hawthorn sucked me in like the deepest bog, refusing to let me go. Sly, evocative, atmospheric writing that slips under the skin.
I have long loved Elaine Thomson's work and Hawthorn is no exception. You'll find a masterful rendering of time and place, a compelling central character, a vivid supporting cast - and best of all - the promise of more books in the quartet to come. Twisty, atmospheric and unsettling, this is an absolute fireside treat
Hawthorn is one of the most deliciously eerie ghost stories you'll ever read; a tale of the Uncanny soaked in the icy darkness of the north-east, it's a deadly bog that sucks you in and freezes your breath with every beautifully chilling word!
I was so impressed by Hawthorn. Elaine Thomson's style is elegant and highly readable, her period detail is deftly touched in, and she immerses the reader in the unsettling atmosphere of her remote, marshy setting
Wonderfully written, Hawthorn is a fantastic page turner in more ways than one: truly a perfect read for this time of year. It's also the first in a quartet of ghost stories all set in Scotland at the four turning points of the Celtic calendar: Samhain, the spring equinox, midsummer and midwinter. So there are more supernatural joys to come.
Hawthorn is a joy - if I can say that about such a creepy, atmospheric, menacing book - and reminded me of The Mist in the Mirror and The Little Stranger, which are two of my very favourite novels. I particularly loved the vividness of the setting - the sense of place as a character in itself - and the narrative voice, with its sly not-quite-trustworthy ambiguity. It's a hugely entertaining and evocative treat for anyone who loves ghost stories.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hawthorn. It was creepily addictive and visually stunning and authentic in its descriptions of place and time. A great read.
A new classic
From a purely experiential point of view, I find Hawthorn faultless. That it could capture me for an entire day and not let me go until I had read the last page is testament to Thomson's power as a story-teller...Thomson has written the best Scottish ghost story of the 21st century so far.
I loved Hawthorn. It succeeds on so many levels: ghost story, thriller, brilliantly realised historical setting and acute psychological study. At the centre of everything, invading our senses from beginning to end, are the haunting, haunted black peat bogs of the wild Caithness moors. Bravo! I can't wait for the rest of the series.
Lyrical, beautifully written, and gripping