The Decadence - Leon Craig

''Lush, complex, and close to the bone, The Decadence filled me with horror in the best way''
Krystelle Bamford, author of Idle Grounds

''A genuinely creepy and evocative contemporary ghost story . . . this novel intrigues and unsettles''
Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

''An exquisitely claustrophobic exploration of the places we do and don''t belong . . . this is a triumph of the queer gothic''
Jane Flett, author of Freakslaw

At the height of lockdown, a group of flailing twenty-something friends makes an illicit break for freedom.

A grand country house stands empty. Once the home of Theo''s great uncle, it seems like the perfect place to get high and hang out in the spring sunshine, as they eschew adult responsibilities.

Since meeting as teenagers, rifts have grown amongst the group. Even as they are determined to enjoy themselves, tensions cast shadows between them - politics, sex and lies. The house, too, has its own dark history and exudes a palpable sense of menace.

Where do the drugs end and the supernatural begin? Will anger and jealousy tear the friends apart, or will it be more ominous forces? Their stay at Holt House will change them all . . .

''The Decadence is both a deeply unnerving read and a sly commentary on the skeletons in Britain''s closet''
Victoria Gosling, author of Bliss & Blunder

''Lush, sinister, and blackly funny ... Rich, intelligent prose underpins delicate exploration of some of our most profound moral quandaries''
Kate Collins, author of A Good House for Children