Disturbance: A lyrical, witchy and atmospheric debut

Jenna Clake

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'Wonderfully witchy and emotionally astute' Chloe Ashby

'Unsettling and atmospheric' Harriet Tyce

'Bloody brilliant' Clare Pollard

Propulsive and wry, this razor-sharp debut is perfect for fans of Boy Parts and My Year of Rest and Relaxation explores all the ways that relationships and trauma can haunt our lives.

As the sun sets on a feverishly hot July evening, a young woman spies on her teenage neighbour, transfixed by what looks like an occult ritual to banish an ex-boyfriend. Desperate to expel the claustrophobic memories of her own ex that have followed, the narrator decides to try to hex herself free from her past.

She falls in with the neighbour and her witchy friend, exploring nascent supernatural powers as the boundaries of reality shift in and out of focus. But when the creaks and hums of her apartment escalate into something more violent, she realizes that she may have brought her boyfriend's presence - whether psychological or paranormal - back to haunt her.

READERS LOVE DISTURBANCE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'well worth the wait - engaging and well-written'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'so vividly depicted that you'll feel you've met [the characters] and shared their angst . . . loved it'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Brilliant'

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Praise for Disturbance: A lyrical, witchy and atmospheric debut

  • A smart, sinister novel about how an abusive relationship - with its ominous rituals, hexes and jump-scares - can turn a home into a haunted house. Blood-curdling and bloody brilliant. - Clare Pollard, author of DELPHIWonderfully witchy and emotionally astute. Disturbance hums with a tense and eerie energy and paints a powerful portrait of a young woman recovering from abuse - Chloe Ashby, author of WET PAINT

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Jenna Clake

Jenna Clake

Jenna Clake's debut collection of poetry, Fortune Cookie, won the Melita Hume prize in 2016 and was published in 2017 by Eyewear. It received an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors in 2018 and was shortlisted for a Somerset Maugham Award in the same year. Jenna's poetry criticism has appeared in Poetry London, Poetry School, and Poetry Review. Her second collection Museum of Ice Cream was published by Bloodaxe and featured as one of the Telegraph's best new poetry books in 2021. She lectures in Creative Writing at Teesside University.

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