The Girl from Rawblood

Ward's textured debut opens in 1910 with young Iris Villarca. "This is how I come to kill my father. It begins like this," the 11-year-old girl says, setting a tone of dark overcast that will continue to the last page. Iris lives with her father at Rawblood, an estate on England's bleak Dartmoor moors with a dark history and unmarked graves. Iris lives by a strict set of rules that center on a singular focus: do not form any relationships, unless you want yourself—and others—to die. The last of their line, the Villarcas are trailed by a deadly curse that not only haunts those they love, but sickens any family member who tries to leave the property. Needless to say, Iris rebels against her father's rules and sets her sights on hapless farmer Tom Gilmore. Their budding romance unleashes a wonderfully twisted narrative that moves among time periods and points of view.