The Grief Nurse: 'A powerful debut novel' - The Guardian (Paperback) - Angie Spoto

But as guests flock to the island for the wake, bringing their own secrets, lies and grief, tensions rise and Lynx finds herself trapped at the centre of a family tearing itself apart. But the son's death is not the last and the island soon becomes a vortex of jealousy, suspicion, hatred and tragedy - with Lynx caught in the middle.

Imagine you could be rid of your sadness, your anxiety, your heartache, your fear. Imagine you could take those feelings from others and turn them into something beautiful. Imagine the power that would give you, how valuable you would be to others...

Lynx is a Grief Nurse. Kept by the Asters, a wealthy, influential family, to ensure they're never troubled by negative emotions. Kept at their manor house, limited to its walls, plush rooms and the elegant grounds on the family's Scottish island, she knows no other life.

When news arrives that the Asters' eldest son is dead, Lynx does what she can to alleviate their sorrow. But as guests flock to the island for the wake, bringing their own secrets, lies and grief, tensions rise and Lynx finds herself trapped at the centre of a family tearing itself apart.

But the son's death is not the last and the island soon becomes a vortex of jealousy, suspicion, hatred and tragedy - with Lynx caught in the middle. With romance, intrigue and spectacular gothic world-building, this spellbinding novel, set in a subtly reimagined 1920s Scotland, marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in fiction.

About the Author

Angie Spoto is an American writer living in Scotland. She grew up near Chicago, lived in the Netherlands, and eventually moved to Scotland to get her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. She loves stories that are dark and surreal, strange and magical, and is inspired by writers like Ursula Le Guinn, Octavia Butler, Leonora Carrington, and Naomi Novik. She loves fairy tales, especially Scottish ones. She lives beside the shore with her husband and son.