Mary Rose

by Geoffrey Girard

Overview

Mary Rose Moreland and Simon Blake are the perfect couple: successful young professionals in Philadelphia, attractive, madly in love, and ready to start a life together. When they travel to England for Simon to ask her parents’ permission to marry Mary Rose, he learns an unsettling secret: Mary Rose disappeared when she was a little girl while the family was vacationing on a remote Scottish island. She reappeared mysteriously thirty-three days later in the exact same spot without a scratch on her and no memory of what had happened.

After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.

Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945293504
Publisher:	Adaptive Studios
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	435,709
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers and dark speculative fiction. Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey earned a BA in English Literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University. He has presented and led workshops on creative writing at schools, bookstores and various writers’ conventions/events.

Editorial Reviews

" Mary Rose is an elegant, classic ghost story that is, at once, truly literate and truly scary. Geoffrey Girard is a storyteller at the top of his game." - Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 NY Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Two if by Sea

From the Publisher

11/01/2017
This classic ghost story is based on a J.M. Barrie play. When lawyer Simon Blake meets graphic designer Mary Rose Morland, it seems their fates are sealed. In a nod to old-fashioned courtship, Simon accompanies Mary Rose to England to ask her parents' permission to propose. Anticipating his intentions, her father cautions Simon, telling him a secret from Mary Rose's past—of which even she is unaware. As a child vacationing on a Scottish island, Mary Rose vanished, only to reappear in the exact same spot 33 days later but with no memory of her disappearance. Simon is determined to uncover the truth, and as Mary Rose's behavior becomes increasingly erratic after the visit to England, Simon's obsession deepens. In a satisfying and eerie conclusion, a Sixth Sense—esque revelation is uncovered only after the wedding, during a honeymoon trip to the island. VERDICT This spine-tingling novel is recommended for horror fans.—Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York

School Library Journal

08/14/2017
Girard (Project Cain) undertakes a spooky modern reimagining of J.M. Barrie’s ghostly 1920 play, using a continuous string of scares and questions to propel his story. Philadelphia lawyer Simon Blake is worried about his eccentric artist fiancée, Mary Rose Morland, who often wanders away to stare into windows and mirrors. On a trip to her native England, Simon learns from Mary’s attentive father and frosty mother that, when she was six, Mary Rose disappeared for a month while vacationing on an uninhabited Scottish island known for its druidic rituals, Satanists, and hoodlum teenagers. The girl reappeared with no memory of the incident, but since then she has drawn pictures of a faceless child accompanied by a large doglike figure. Obsessed with learning the truth, Simon uncovers a haunted house, scrying mirror, and somber druids who claim the island is a portal to another world. Jubilant and childlike, Mary Rose wants to return to the island for her honeymoon; of course this goes badly. Girard’s eerie descriptions exploit the fear of the unknown and the unnatural, and secretive characters, including the enigmatic island, hide their intentions. This is a nightmarish tale of repressed memories and misdirection. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly