Necrology

by Meg Ripley

Overview

"It's amazing what the spirit can cope with to preserve the body. My spirit is a mighty oak that just won't fall."

In a fantastical aftermath of the Salem witch trials, magical women known as the Dirty have signed a contract swearing off their innate magic in exchange for freedom from violence by non-magical Freemen. Two hundred years later, in a Catskills orphanage, headmistress Whitetail has sprouted antlers-proof of a violated contract. When her wealthy benefactor visits, proposing marriage, her appearance sparks abuse. Rushing to her teacher's defense, eight-year-old Rabbit curses the Beard dead, and Whitetail's arrested on trumped-up charges.

As Whitetail awaits her trial and execution, Rabbit is groomed as the Freemen's star witness and learns of the terrifying reality to which they aspire. With her magic at stake and a loose tooth in her mouth, Rabbit has little left to lose. And a revolution to gain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951971144
Publisher:	Creature Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Series:	Dirty , #1
Pages:	380
Sales rank:	639,224
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Meg Ripley was born in Ontario and raised in Newfoundland, Canada, surrounded by whales and icebergs. After a BFA from the University of Western Ontario with a focus in drawing and an interest women's studies, she won a stint as a fry-cook at the local diner. She set her sights on NYC and an MFA in illustration from The School of Visual Arts. The program's mandatory (ahem, I-can't-believe-they're-making-me-do-this) writing workshop came to hold more value than she could have ever anticipated.Her illustration work for various fashion and design agencies culminated in a tenure as creative director for a brand development firm--but then came her beautiful children, and an idea for a book that she couldn't ignore. These days, she writes horror and dark fantasy from her family's Brooklyn apartment while ceaselessly singing the praises of both boredom and the outdoors to her two sons.

Editorial Reviews

09/09/2024

Ripley chills with this atmospheric debut set in a world where magical women, called the Dirty, and nonmagical men, known as the Freemen, struck a truce after the Salem witch trials. So long as Dirty women do not practice magic (in this universe referred to as using the Dirt), Freemen will not act violently against them. Two centuries later, in 1894 New York City, an eight-year-old girl named Rabbit lives in a Dirty orphanage with other children whose parents died in a mysterious fire. The orphanage is run by Whitetail, who has recently grown antlers, a consequence of using the Dirt to hide her fugitive twin sister within her body. When the orphanage’s Freeman patron, dubbed “Beard” by the children, sees Whitetail’s Dirty appearance, he attacks her, and Rabbit curses him dead. Blamed for Beard’s death, Whitetail is arrested, and the Freemen hope to use her case to justify overturning the truce and bringing back stake burnings. In prison, Whitetail endures torture while working to keep her twisted, rebellious sister contained. Meanwhile, Rabbit is taken in by a Freemen politician to be a star witness at the trial. Behind enemy lines, she discovers the fraught history of her world, as well as the truth about the fire and her own origins. Ripley builds a powder keg of suspense as the trial looms. With a dark tone, unique magical culture, and embodied prose, this is a promising start. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly