Donald Maass Literary Agency

Publishers Weekly: A famously haunted Japanese mansion is the wedding venue of choice for an adventurous couple in this hair-raising novella from Khaw (These Deathless Bones)—and the local spirits are not the only obstacle to marital bliss. Five childhood friends with a metric ton of baggage between them fly to Japan to witness the union of two of their own—but old hurt and stubborn grudges cast long shadows within their group, and the social drama takes center stage, even as an ohaguro-bettari, the ghost of a bride buried beneath the palace centuries ago, demands a sacrifice for hosting them. When the modern day bride-to-be is taken hostage by the spirit, the remaining friends are left to piece together the offering she demands while facing their own grievances head-on. Khaw’s prose oozes dread as malevolent creatures from Japanese mythology swarm the pages and the characters’ interpersonal relationships crash and burn. Horror readers and folklore fans will find this tale of terror to be brutally satisfying.