Solaris is pleased to present a supernatural thriller by a debut author that blends the Dark Ages and the present into a chilling rural nightmare.

Fergus’s world changes forever the day his car crashes. Traumatised by his near-death experience, he tries to discover a gentler pace of life, fall in love – and be targeted for human sacrifice.

Clare Harvey’s life will never be the same either. The archaeologist’s dream find – the preserved body of a ritually murdered Saxon warrior and the nearby partial skeleton of a young woman – is giving her nightmares. Fergus discovers that his crash is linked to the excavation, and that the countryside harbours dark secrets. As Clare’s investigation reveals the full horror of a Dark Age war crime, the couple seem destined to share the Saxon bodies’ bloody fate.

Gudgion’s first novel is a terrifying glimpse into countryside saturated by dark history and the fears of the modern mind, which evokes the works of authors such as Phil Rickman and MR James.