As the imposing gothic facade of Stoneborough Manor looms out of the darkness on New Years Eve, Joanna and her circle of college friends gather to celebrate with Lucas, the inheritor of the grand house. Though Joanna feels a palpable unease within the house she brushes it aside to follow her heart when the 10-year friendship between her and Lucas finally blossoms into something more. As the group converges each weekend at the manor the feeling grows on her, seeming to infect the friends and her relationship with Lucas. Tension builds and foundations crumble; only Joanna seems to be aware of the malevolent presence lurking in their midst.

Since they first came together at Oxford ten years before the group has maintained ties with each other; Lucas, Danny, Joanna, Martha, Rachel, and Michael. They have always been as close as a phone call and some are closer within the group then others. Danny and Lucas have been friends the longest and Danny maintains a jealous hold on Lucas. After Lucas inherits the house, upon the suicide of his beloved uncle, he and Joanna finally begin dating. Joanna is ecstatic but Danny accuses Joanna of gold digging to separate them. He will stop at nothing to keep them apart, including conniving Lucas to move into the house full time and him as well. Once they are installed in the house, the group connection begins to deteriorate at high velocity as Joanna watches helplessly, though not entirely innocently; she has made her own bad choices that contribute to the failing dynamic. Once a stunning former paramour of Lucas's late uncle arrives, followed by her equally stunning daughter, it appears that every tie that binds this close-knit group is swiftly unraveling, fueled by alcohol, lust, and too many unspoken words. Only Joanna can feel the unknown presence lurking in the house. Can she draw it out, and the secrets with it, before everything is lost?

My god I have never waited so long for midnight to arrive. This book has got to be the most boring thing I have ever read. I've read a lot of books but seriously this was boring. It was really just a group of namby-pamby Londoners with high salaries who dash off to the Costwolds every weekend to get hammered and high and sleep around with each other and get caught. The only difference here is that we're going to blame it on... something lurking in the house? So it was kind of a supernatural version of Gossip Girl goes London? Maybe, maybe. I certainly don't want to ruin it for you. I'll let the superlative narrative and the fabulously introspective characters do that themselves.
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Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 3, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 034549931X
ISBN-13: 978-0345499318