The faceless thing we adore

Steel's blistering and brilliant debut is queer cosmic horror set in a slice of paradise. When hapless, insecure bartender Aoife intercepts a postcard sent to her abusive boss from the pub's previous bartender, Elise, she feels an inexplicable, irresistible pull to the beautiful sun-drenched island it depicts. Just like that, she walks away from her life, leaving her terrible job and awful boyfriend for the Farmstead, a charming little island compound. The food is spectacular, the surroundings are gorgeous, and the people offer Aoife a place where she can finally belong. But Elise is mysteriously missing, Aoife dreams of rot, and the longer she stays at the Farmstead, the more she learns about its denizens' strange belief that a long-trapped deity sleeps beneath the island. They claim to be its chosen acolytes, brought there to help it break free, wipe the world clean, and witness what will be born from the ashes. Writing in gory, gorgeous prose, the author makes both the emotional and the eldritch stakes sky-high, and her masterful tension building keeps the pages flying. This goes for the jugular. Agent: Lauren Bajek, Liza Dawson Associates. (Aug.)