Stay Buried: A Novel

Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of Children on the Hill comes a queer folk horror in which a woman must confront decades of secrecy and superstition to learn the truth about her mother’s death.

Some towns stay isolated for a reason.

1919: Frankie O’Massey has always been the black sheep of isolated Boone’s Ferry, Vermont. Her uncle, Dr. Thomas Endicott, has been training her in the science of medicine, something the townspeople are wary of. When a mysterious illness strikes the town, and the community suspects supernatural forces, the two desperately search for a logical explanation. Patient zero seems to be the town’s knackerman—a recluse who collects dead and dying farm animals to make use of their parts.

2016: Siblings Ashley and Malcolm lost their mother two years ago. When their grandmother dies, they inherit a property in Boone’s Ferry—a place they’ve heard of but their grandmother has always refused to talk about—and embark on a trip to their ancestral home. The idyllic town is full of autumnal décor, picturesque farmland, and small-town charm. But some of the townspeople aren’t very welcoming—and they have some unsettling traditions, like leaving offerings to a vengeful spirit four times a year.