The Temple House Vanishing
'Atmospheric, creepy, tense and utterly absorbing' Harriet Tyce
-
- £3.99
Publisher Description
'This brooding tale of obsessive love, teenage jealousy and hidden desire has a dark charm' The i paper
'Atmospheric, creepy, tense and utterly absorbing' Harriet Tyce
'Clean prose, subtle characters and intrigue to keep the pages turning' Mike McCormack
___________________
Power. Jealousy. Desire.
Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace...
When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher, Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish.
Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest.
The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.
'Chilling' Christine Dwyer Hickey
'Exquisite' Jo Spain
___________________
Perfect for fans of Emily M. Danforth's's Plain Bad Heroines...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Irish writer Donahue's atmospheric debut explores unrequited love, obsession, and disappearance in an Irish boarding school. In 1990, 16-year-old Louisa's test scores earn her a place at the prestigious Temple House, situated in a Victorian manse on a gloomy seaside hill. The dour nuns and the head prefect ensure the reputation of the school for mainly rich and privileged girls is protected from inside defilement, as does snobbish classmate Helen, who bullies Louisa. She remains an outsider until she meets the beautiful, enigmatic student Victoria, and Mr. Lavelle, the school's heartthrob art teacher. As Louisa, Victoria, and Mr. Lavelle form a clandestine clique, they become enmeshed in a messy triangle that has implications for the entire school and ends with the disappearance of Mr. Lavelle and Louisa. Years later, on the 25th anniversary of their disappearance, an unnamed journalist working on a story about the episode aims to make readers feel like the events "could have them." It isn't until the journalist interviews Victoria, now a divorced, successful businesswoman, that the reasons behind the disappearances become unearthed. The creeping pace, melancholic tone, and full-bodied characters create a perfect snapshot of desperate youth amid oppressive tradition. This stands among the best of the current modern gothic trend.
