Five horror titles set in grand country homes

Jennifer Thorne is the USA Today bestselling author of Diavola and Lute, as well as several books for younger readers. With Lee Kelly, she is the co-writer of novels The Midnight Show, My Fair Frauds, The Starlets, and The Antiquity Affair. Born in the US, she now lives with her husband and two sons in the west of England.

Thorne's latest novel is Newbourne Park.

At CrimeReads she tagged "five literary country houses that also play host to devils." One title on the list:

T.H. Huddleston, The Cracks

What if the only way out of a desperate financial situation is to take up your rich friend’s offer to stay at the historic family home of his aristocratic wife while you get back on your feet? And if you happen to have certain skills in the kitchen, why wouldn’t you take on some of the domestic tasks as a means of showing your thanks? And if the ghosts of Hautmond Hall, perhaps even the house itself, would prefer to keep you in service forever…how on earth can you fight back?

This deliciously satirical horror novel shows that class distinctions are insidiously pernicious traps, even in the year 2026.

Read about the other books on Thorne's list at CrimeReads.

--Marshal Zeringue