This House is Haunted - Hardcover

JOHN BOYNE was born in Ireland in 1971 and is the author of eight novels including the international bestsellers Mutiny on the Bounty, The Absolutist and The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas which won two Irish Book Awards, topped the New York Times bestseller list in the US and was made into a Miramax feature film. His novels are published in over 40 languages. He lives in Dublin. www.johnboyne.com

Eliza Caine is orphaned at 21 when her father succumbs to the flu after he insisted on attending a reading by Charles Dickens in cold, wet weather. She is bereft and, like most heroines of the time, without resources. She has lost her home, and so she leaves her teaching job to take a position as governess to two children in Norfolk. The advertisement is somewhat irregular, but she summons her courage and travels to what should be her new life. But secrets and mysteries abound. There are no parents present, and no servants to speak of. No one will share any information, and terrible things keep happening. Isabella seems old beyond her years, while Eustace is sweet and lovable. Through dogged pursuit, Eliza ferrets out the horrific truth and survives the malevolence of the presence that haunts the house. As the fearful situation grows worse, Eliza finds a strength that is unexpected for her time and place. Does she solve the puzzle, and do she and the children survive? A perfect, shivery gothic tale. --Danise Hoover