NOMINATED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS TEEN/YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018

'Beautiful, eerie, dark and dreamy' MELINDA SALISBURY
'Watson's writing has the sort of poise rarely found in a debut' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE
'Thrilling and otherworldly' SUNDAY TIMES

Every winter, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. The boys who haunt her are judges, powerful and frightening pursuers, who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would turn deadly.

But Wren is on the hunt, too. Sent undercover as an intern to the Harkness Foundation - enemy headquarters - her family's survival rests on finding a secret meant to stay hidden. As the enmity between two ancient magics reaches breaking point, Wren is torn between old loyalties and new lies. And trapped in the most dangerous game of her life.

Part thriller, part love story, this captivating debut novel will leave readers spellbound.

Mary Watson is from Cape Town and now lives on the West Coast of Ireland with her husband and three young children. Highlights of her adult writing career include being awarded the Caine Prize for African Writing in Oxford in 2006, and being included on the Hay Festival's 2014 Africa39 list of influential writers from sub-Saharan Africa.

marywatsonbooks.com