Nowhere Burning
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 19 Feb 2026
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- USD 11.99
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- Pre-Order
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- USD 11.99
Publisher Description
* FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET *
'Catriona Ward is a sorceress of the highest order and Nowhere Burning is nothing short of spellbinding' - OLIVIE BLAKE
'Gorgeous, dangerous, mythic and horrific. For anyone who likes to marvel at a remarkable storyteller' - A.J. FINN
'Broke my heart a dozen times and held me spellbound throughout. Just genius' - SARAH HILARY
The Nowhere Children are expecting you...
High in the mountains sits Nowhere, a verdant valley surrounded by walls of rock. People have lived at Nowhere for centuries, though never for long, and rarely happily. Its last owner was its most famous: movie star Leaf Winham, who built Nowhere House as a refuge to hide from his fame... and to hide his crimes. Only when Nowhere House went up in flames were the graves discovered, the last resting places of lost young men who would never go home.
Years later, Nowhere valley has become a sanctuary for runaway children, a place where adults cannot enter. Drawn by this promise, fourteen-year-old Riley pulls her brother Oliver from his bed in the middle of the night, hoping to find a new family. But the Nowhere Children are fierce in defending their valley and their secrets. For something dark lives in the ruins of Nowhere House, something that asks a terrible price for sanctuary...
'A creepy, clever and heartrending story, compelling and beautifully crafted' - EMMA HEALEY
'Darkly compelling, and so well-drawn with such a range of believable, engaging characters... Terrific' - JOANNE HARRIS
'Atmospheric and achingly tender suspense from one of our most original writers. I dare you not to fall under its spell' - ERIN KELLY
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Ward (The Last House on Needless Street) showcases her talent for twisty plotting, genuine scares, and unreliable narrators in this brilliant and brutal riff on Peter Pan. The dark things lurking in the Rocky Mountain town of Ault are many, and young protagonist Riley and her little brother, Oliver, who recently lost their mother and were sent to live with a cruel cousin, are on the radar of more than one of them. When a strange, scrawny young woman named Noon shows up at Riley's window and offers her directions to Nowhere, a ruined mansion compound that has become a refuge for runaways, Riley seizes the opportunity to escape. Shrouded in urban legend, Nowhere belonged to movie star Leaf Winham before burning down years ago. Upon arrival, the siblings are welcomed by the borderline-feral children squatting there, but Riley fears her many secrets may ruin everything if they get out. Meanwhile, the children of Nowhere are playing with dark powers, and two investigative journalists are on their way to the compound to shoot a documentary on Winham's death, threatening to pull the gory, terrible history of Nowhere into the light. Ward ably captures the slipperiness of reality through the eyes of a child and masterfully pulls off a devastating final reveal. This is sure to haunt readers long after the last page is turned.