An intriguing, nuanced, and genuinely eerie slice of Victorian gothic.' -The Guardian 'If The Silent Companions lands on your night table, don''t plan on leaving your bed anytime soon. Praise for The Silent Companions ' extraordinary, memorable and truly haunting book.' -Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author 'A perfect read for a winter night. Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer? For fans of Shirley Jackson, The Poison Thread is a spine-tingling, sinister read about the evil that lurks behind the facade of innocence. The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations-of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses-will shake Dorothea's belief in rationality, and the power of redemption. But when she meets one of the prisoners, the teenaged seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another strange idea: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread-because Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.

When Dorothea's charitable work brings her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted by the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person's skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. Ruth Butterham is young, poor, and awaiting trial for murder. '-Kiran Millwood Hargrave From the author of The Silent Companions, a thrilling Victorian gothic horror story about a young seamstress who claims her needle and thread have the power to kill Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy, and beautiful. Satisfying.' - New York Times Book Review 'A romping read with a deliciously dark conceit at its center.

Laura purcell the poison thread