Nightjar

A stunning collection of stories that explore the rural landscape of the far Northwestern US, and how unexpected intuitions forever alter the lives of ordinary people, From the critically acclaimed, prizewinning author of Idaho

Four years after moving into the isolated house in rural Oregon where her husband lived as a child, the protagonist of 'Victor’s Room' begins to doubt her husband’s account of his family’s past. In 'Round Lake', a young woman’s plans to meet a lover in Tokyo are upended when she learns a startling truth about her mother’s death. In 'Owl', a fur trapper reckons with the dreadful origins of his marriage after his wife is brutally injured by four adolescent boys.

Haunting and psychologically provocative, and set against the vivid backdrop of the rural Northwestern US, Nightjar illuminates the secret, instinctive knowledge that lies just under the surface of our awareness.

'Exquisite short stories. They disturb, delight and linger long after finishing' LOUISE KENNEDY
'To read Emily Ruskovich is to unwrap a gift' PAULA HAWKINS

© Emily Ruskovich 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026