The Night Hag

The thrilling new historical mystery from the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Beholders

Scotland, 1886. Lil is an archaeologist who has dedicated herself to a life of rational enquiry. But she is plagued by nightmares which haunt her sleep, and by memories of her mother, a famous medium. As Lil tracks down a mysterious doctor who she believes will cure her of her night terrors, she is caught in a fight between science and superstition, between who she wants to be and the identity she can’t escape.

But who exactly is this doctor that Lil so feverishly reveres? And how could the long-lost hoard unearthed at one of Lil's digs reveal secrets from her past?

From the bestselling author of The Beholders comes this unputdownable historical mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE BEHOLDERS:

‘A page-turning epistolary novel which takes us on a weaving tale of intrigue, full of heart, that held me completely in its thrall until the very last line. Bravo!’ Susan Stokes-Chapman, number one bestselling author of Pandora

‘A dark slice of the sort of gothic nineteenth-century readers were warned against. Thrumming with tension and posing chewy questions about power and complicity, within two pages it had me in its grip and I couldn’t bring myself to look away. Uneasy, unsettling, and unputdownable’ Lianne Dillsworth, author of Theatre of Marvels

‘A well-researched and thoroughly convincing page-turner’ Laura Shepperson, bestselling author of The Heroines

‘An atmospheric historical thriller with layer upon layer of secrets and twists that kept me guessing right through to the novel’s exquisite ending. Simultaneously enthralling and unsettling, this book examines the darkness beneath the surface of Victorian society with deft and unflinching brushstrokes. I can’t wait to read more from Hester Musson’ Katie Lumsden, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

'Shines a light on the exploitative, class-based darkness at the heart of late 19th-century society England. I was hooked from the start' The Daily Mail

'Continues to surprise with a series of twists and revelations in its plot’ Sunday Times

‘A goose-bump-inducing atmosphere… prepared to be consumed!' Debut Digest

‘I adored this historical debut and fans of gothic fiction will too. I was absolutely rooting for Harriet the whole way through’ Nina Pottell, Prima

'An enjoyable and gripping read' Irish News

'Unputdownable' My Weekly

About the author

Hester Musson's Gothic historical novel The Beholders was a Times bestseller and shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown in 2024. She lives in rural Scotland at the top of an old, jackdaw-haunted building, and it's beginning to show.