The Blooming

In order to save her child, herself and the world as we know it, a single mother must battle a sentient fungal entity that has come to possess the body and mind of her six-year-old daughter in this chilling and unforgettable new novel from the acclaimed author of Girl in Ice and Into the Jungle.

Rain falls constantly in the northeastern suburbs of Boston. Seasons blur into each other. Sweltering temperatures and withering humidity linger, even in late fall. Every living creature suffers except one: Kingdom Fungi. Mushrooms bloom everywhere: they cover lawns, strangle trees, break through sidewalks, reveling in the heat and wet.

Single mother and mycologist Dani Walters takes note of this, and it makes her uneasy. But it’s her six-year-old daughter Piper’s behavior after eating some wild mushrooms that really frightens her. The girl now claims she has an imaginary friend who tells her to do terrible things.

Dani struggles to fathom this new development in Piper, and takes her to therapy to get to the bottom of it. Everything from multiple personality disorder to early schizophrenia is on the table—after all, Dani’s mother suffers from the disease, unable to control the voices she hears in her own head.

But these are all false leads. Piper’s new friend is no ordinary childhood fabrication. Dani must determine what is possessing her daughter, and how to rid her of it.

Young Piper’s life—and humanity’s continued existence—hang in the balance.