Her Wicked Roots

A gorgeous English garden, an all-female household and a beguiling new love interest—what could possibly go wrong? The answer is, a lot. Tanya Pell’s sophomore novel, Her Wicked Roots, takes the reader to Victorian England, where a dogged protagonist won’t give up the search for her brother, even when thrown into an enigmatic living situation where potential romance and beautiful flowers may not be enough to save her life. Cordelia Beecher has nothing left: She’s aged out of the charity school she and her brother, Edward, were raised in, and a teaching job at the same school was both exploitative and traumatic. With her meager savings, Cordelia travels to the town where Edward has an apprenticeship—only no one there knows his name. When Cordelia stumbles upon the Edenfield estate, she’s given employment that comes with a fair wage, delicious homegrown meals and a delightful mutual attraction to Briar, one of the two beautiful daughters of botanist estate owner Lady Evangeline. But strange noises, odd ceremonies and a hidden portrait of Edward himself lead Cordelia to question what Edenfield really is and wonder whether her beloved sibling succumbed to its forces. Pell, author of Cicada and several short stories, skillfully brews a gothic horror that’s The Secret Garden meets Midsommar with a sapphic twist and a compelling mystery at its core. Cordelia is a scrappy protagonist with an unwavering loyalty to Edward, and her relationships with the women of Edenfield (sweet and sheltered Briar and her calculating sister, Prim; generous but secretive housemaid Stella and the sharply intelligent Evangeline) add fascinating layers to the narrative. Aside from Edward, almost no men populate the world of the novel, and a complex cast of characters coupled with Pell’s lush prose make for an unforgettable read. Like the belladonna plant that populates Edenfield, Her Wicked Roots is deceptively approachable—but beware of the poison just under the stunning surface.