Five Mile House — Karen Novak

In 1889, Eleanor Bly flung herself from the tower of Five Mile House after murdering her seven children. More than a hundred years later, her ghost reaches out to Leslie Stone, a New York cop who has killed a child murderer and is haunted by her actions. New to the town of Wellington-famous for its coven of witches-Leslie becomes obsessed with Eleanor's story, suspecting that the truth may be quite different from local legend. As she digs deeper, uncovering dangerous town secrets, her life and the lives of her children are put into peril. Is Leslie destined to suffer the same madness as Eleanor Bly?



"Deftly written...Ms. Novak tells a compelling story that moves along with a literary flourish and a few unexpected frights. It should be read late at night."-Cincinnati Enquirer

"A terrific ghost story and a fine first novel."-Booklist

"Novak has the reader on tenterhooks."-Publishers Weekly

"A breathtaking novel about crime, about coming to terms with one's history, about learning to give love and to accept it. The writing is beautiful. And this is a brilliant debut."-Frederick Busch