Eleven Houses

Gr 9 Up–Mabel Beauvry is one of the last surviving members of the families living on Weymouth Island, a secret and secretive community off the coast of Nova Scotia. No one who lives off the island ever remembers its existence, nor are they aware that the foundation stones of the 11 houses on the island are the gateway between the dead who lurk beneath the Dehset Sea and the living on the mainland. Each family is committed to shoring up their houses and laying traps to try to capture and ensnare the dead who rise out of the ocean every decade or so during heavy storms. But all their efforts and preparations are not necessarily enough to stop the dead, and no one is safe. In a storm years earlier, Mabel lost her father to the dead, her sister to agoraphobia, and her mother to alcohol consumption. When Miles Cabot arrives on the island after the death of his mother, a former resident of the island, Mabel is instantly and inexplicably drawn to him in spite of the fact that the community is fearful and often antagonistic to outsiders. Many believe that the connection between Miles and Mabel may have a cataclysmic effect on the island and perhaps the rest of the world. This is a slow-build Gothic thriller filled with zombielike corporeal ghosts, plenty of foreshadowing, and a surprise twist that will be savored by patient readers who enjoy atmospheric suspense thrillers with a sprinkle of romance sans blood and gore.