Take Mean Girls, stir in a substantial serving of reality, add a dash of parental neglect, and drag it out to bake in the unrelenting South African sun, and you get The Thorns. So many of us have had Staceys in our lives, and this is the most honest account of abusive friendships Ive ever read: it made me feel seen. Kurtagich has created a brutal, visceral, and unflinching masterpiece that will haunt you long after you put it down. Ann Dįvila Cardinal, author of The Storytellers Death
Kurtagich blends together the world of adolescent friendships and all-consuming obsession in this dazzling triumph of a novel that burrows into your flesh like briars. The Thorns oozes with an atmosphere that emerges bloody from the page and leaves you gasping for more. Teagan Olivia King, author of Spit Back the Bones
Dawn Kurtagichs writing is as sharp as it gets, pulling readers into a world thick with atmosphere and emotion. Her ability to weave psychological tension with vivid, immersive prose makes her storytelling utterly unforgettable. Kurtagich knows what shes doing, and shes not afraid to rip out your heart in the process. Shea Ernshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Live the Pumpkin Queen
Another Dawn Kurtagich masterpiece, The Thorns left me wrecked, mind-blown, and in absolute awe! To anyone who has had a Stacey in their life: you will get this. To everyone else: be glad that you dont, but be prepared for The Thorns to burrow deep into your soul anyway. Kat Ellis, author of The Devouring Light
Brutal and beautiful, The Thorns is half a fever dream, half a nightmare that captures the feeling of adolescent girlhood with unflinching honesty. Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge and Tenderly, I am Devoured
Unflinching. Wicked. Needle-sharp. The Thorns is penned with an abundance of brutality and tenderness. This is feminist horror at its best. Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
Praise for Dawn Kurtagich
Dawn Kurtagich really is the queen of darkness Josh Winning, author of Heads Will Roll
Scary stuff! R. L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series
Kurtagich is one of my favorite writers. Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred Loves of Juliet
Dawn Kurtagich has an amazing mind. Creepy, but amazing. Christopher Pike, bestselling author of the Thirst series
Kurtagichs horror imagery is satisfying and affecting. School Library Journal
Kurtagichs writing is evocative and fearless. Cat Winters, author of In the Shadow of Blackbirds and The Ravens Tale
Praise for The Madness
Sharp and relentless, The Madness has a bite that wont let go. Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker Awardnominated author of And I Darken
Fiercely feminist and fantastically eerie, The Madness is Welsh Gothic at its most intoxicating. Dawn Kurtagich really is the queen of darkness, drawing beautifully on Bram Stokers Dracula to deliver a story thats smart, fresh, and frightening in equal measure. This book wraps itself around you like a wraith and refuses to let go. Josh Winning, author of Burn the Negative
If you thought Mina Harker deserved more credit, more power, and more agency, this Dracula remix is for you. The Madness zeroes in on the originals undercurrent of sexual violence and puts its targetsyoung womenin the starring roles, arming them not only with wooden stakes and arcane lore but also with love and solidarity. Kurtagichs vampires, like Stokers, are vicious, calculating predators, but this time the prey bites back. Amelinda Bérubé, author of Here There Are Monsters
In The Madness, Dawn Kurtagich has created a stunning Dracula retellingcreepy, insidious, and visceral. This book will haunt me for a long timein the very best way. Amy McCulloch, author of Breathless
Exquisitely dark, disturbing, and clever as hell! Kurtagichs hypnotic retelling electrifies and relentlessly propels the reader forward with one cliff-hanger after another. If you think youve heard this story before, think again. The Madness is a tour de force of feminist horror. Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
The Madness is genuinely chilling and endlessly compelling. Welsh folklore, small towns, and secretsthis story is Gothic horror at its finest. Emily Lloyd-Jones, author of The Bone Houses
I devoured The Madness. A modern interpretation of Dracula cast with familiar characters, the story is deferential, referential, and yet wholly its own terrifying achievement. Kurtagichs writing is lively and gorgeous. This original spin on a familiar tale is guaranteed to keep you turning the pages until the sun comes up. Joshua Moehling, author of And There He Kept Her and Where the Dead Sleep
Kurtagich has taken the classic horror novel and dragged it into the twenty-first century in this fabulous, feminist, and fierce retelling. Mina Harker was one of the most passive women in literature, representing Victorian virtue until she is attacked, and then is considered soiled because of it. The Mina of The Madness is intelligent, flawed, and fiercely relatable. She takes matters into her own hands, and forms a band of badass women, reimagining Stokers boys club in a manner that will leave you pumping your fist in the air with triumph. Ann Dįvila Cardinal, award-winning author of The Storytellers Death
A retelling with teeth, The Madness is exquisitely timely and elegantly told, reimagining vampires into our current world with rich imagination. Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf
An atmospheric and immersive read! This feminist take on Dracula, focusing on victim experiences and with spot-on commentary about the parallels between men and monsters, is as fast-paced as it is carefully wrought. With bone-chilling imagery and deep characterizations, this is a fantastic reimagining of the classic Dracula tale. Wendy Heard, author of You Can Trust Me and Hunting Annabelle
The Madness is a mesmerizing indictment of female exploitation sculpted from the decaying bones of a classic. An intricate and empathetic reimagining that haunted me in more ways than one. My new favourite thriller! Isabel Agajanian, author of Modern Divination
Dawn Kurtagichs official debut novel! My reading experience of The Madness consisted of the investigation of mysterious psychic traumastrong female protagonists, and a labyrinthine, Welsh castle, all of which are drenched in the pervasive echoes of Bram Stokers Dracula. I especially enjoyed the mixed-media storytelling including bits of letters, texts, and message board discussionsso interactive and immersive! The Madness checks a lot of boxes for thrill seekers and horror hounds! Sadie Hartmann (@mother.horror)
A propulsively dark Welsh Gothic reimaging of Dracula, which centers on the compelling and lushly drawn women of the tale. Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves local folklore with a malevolent conspiracy of powerful men to deliver a novel that is viscerally creepy and unforgettable. Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of the Dorothy Must Die series and Wish of the Wicked
Praise for Teeth in the Mist
Dawn Kurtagich breathes life into Faustian lore. Hypable
Kurtagich delivers a creepy, atmospheric tale of subjugation, female self-empowerment, and redemption. Publishers Weekly
Kurtagichs writing is evocative and fearless. Teeth in the Mist abounds with atmosphere, mystery, and horror and gleefully plays with the Faust legend in ways both modern and classically Gothic. Cat Winters, author of In the Shadow of Blackbirds and The Ravens Tale
Delightfully disturbingan eerie, atmospheric, satanic spooky story. Kirkus Reviews
In Teeth in the Mist, Dawn Kurtagich weaves genres, time periods, and sets of characters with deft fingers. Connecting all is the mysterious Mill House. Readers will be fascinated, perplexed, often freaked out, and always wanting to turn the next page. Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim series
Praise for And the Trees Crept In (The Creeper Man)
Will haunt readers with its raw emotions, palpable pain, and consistent character voicesFrightening and compelling, this gothic will easily sweep fans up into its creeping sense of hysteria. Kirkus Reviews
And the Trees Crept In is a hauntingly immersive tale of insanity, terror, and what happens when youre not even safe in your own home. Hypable
Kurtagichs horror imagery is satisfying and affectingher descriptions of the day-to-day decay the girls face are as rich and scary as the monstrous man who scuttles around on all fours and the teeming mud pits that are waiting in the woods. A great next read for teens who enjoy being scared. School Library Journal (starred review)
Kurtagich evokes an all-pervading atmosphere of horror with dark imagery and language evoking rot, decay, and deathThis unique novel is for teens who enjoy being immersed in a dark, complex horror story. Voya (starred review)
Kurtagich has created an incredibly assured, claustrophobic horror with a fractured and troubled teen narrator that will have you gripped to the very last page. Book Trust
Horror fans will be caught by the gripping cover image, and theres plenty to scare them here, even during the second reading that the surprise ending might encourage them to undertake. The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books
Dark, twisted, and terrifying, And the Trees Crept In will keep your stomach in knots from page one. A must-read for horror fans everywhere! Susan Dennard, New York Times bestselling author of Truthwitch and Windwitch
And the Trees Crept In should come with a warning label: Best read in the light of day, with lots of smiling people around, and candy canes and unicorns and cute babies. A beautifully written, gorgeous nightmare of a novel. David Arnold, bestselling author of Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite
An enthralling, unsettling fairy tale that will have you turning pages long into the night. Michelle Zink, author of This Wicked Game and Lies I Told
A fight for survival, an encroaching forest, a cursed manor, and dark secretsKurtagichs terrifying take wrapped my heart up and squeezed until I was as cold as the dead things haunting its pages. Alexandra Sirowy, author of The Creeping and The Telling
Praise for The Dead House
A haunting new thriller EW.com
This book will pique readers interest on multiple levels. Library School Connection
A horror tale made creepier by the integration of diary entries, grainy pictures, interview transcripts, newspaper clippings, doodles, stills from video recordings, and other media, Carly/Kaitlyns story is told as found footage pieced together by followers of the Johnson incident, which remains an unsolved mystery. Kurtagich maintains the creepy and dark tone through to the end, where readers are not given a neat a tidy endingghosts still haunt, pieces of the story remain missing, and life goes on despite the terrible tragedy at the prestigious Elmbridge High School. Voya (October 2015 print issue)
Kurtagichs debut is a taut, psychological suspense novel centered around disturbed teenagers Carly and Kaitlyn Johnson and the horrifying series of events that culminated in a deadly fire at a residential high school. Not for the faint of heart, this is a gory and grimly compelling story, made more so by the novels visual elements. Readers will be left wondering if the supernatural elements are real or all part of a troubled girls damaged mind. Booklist
This creepy boarding school novel meshes real-world issues with a paranormal mystery in a fun but scary debutFans of horror novels will appreciate the creepy photographs scattered throughout, and the multiple perspectives are smoothly integratesa worthy addition to high school horror collections. School Library Journal
I do love an unreliable narrator (or two), and this endlessly twisty psychological horror manipulated from the off. A Buzz Book of the Bologna Childrens Book Fair in 2014, this is Orion imprint Indigos biggest debut title of the year. The Bookseller
Insightful characterization and a detailed exploration of the importance of the emergent identity to the teenage self. Publishers Weekly
