2025 Locus Award for Best Horror Novel (finalist)
* SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUSTRALASIAN SHADOWS NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD *
'Eerie, atmospheric, full of suspense and surprises' - GUARDIAN
'A gothic-tinged tale with all the suspense and menace of page-turning crime fiction' - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
People come to visit my home and I love to show them around. It's not the original house of course. That was destroyed the day my entire family died. But I don't think their ghosts know the difference.
Pera Sinclair was nine the day her family home was destroyed, killing everyone inside. Over the decades she rebuilt Sinclair House, each room telling a piece of her story and that of the people who died there. And while she doesn't believe in ghosts, she's not above telling visitors a ghost story or two.
As Pera guides a family through her home on the last tour of the season, an unexpected group of men arrive. Dangerous men, who will hurt the family and see no reason to keep an old woman alive. But these men will learn that Pera is far from helpless. After all, death seems to follow wherever she goes...
Sinister and lyrical, The Underhistory is a haunting tale of loss, self-preservation and the darkness beneath.
Genre: Horror
'Eerie, atmospheric, full of suspense and surprises' - GUARDIAN
'A gothic-tinged tale with all the suspense and menace of page-turning crime fiction' - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
People come to visit my home and I love to show them around. It's not the original house of course. That was destroyed the day my entire family died. But I don't think their ghosts know the difference.
Pera Sinclair was nine the day her family home was destroyed, killing everyone inside. Over the decades she rebuilt Sinclair House, each room telling a piece of her story and that of the people who died there. And while she doesn't believe in ghosts, she's not above telling visitors a ghost story or two.
As Pera guides a family through her home on the last tour of the season, an unexpected group of men arrive. Dangerous men, who will hurt the family and see no reason to keep an old woman alive. But these men will learn that Pera is far from helpless. After all, death seems to follow wherever she goes...
Sinister and lyrical, The Underhistory is a haunting tale of loss, self-preservation and the darkness beneath.
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"A wonderfully weird and creepy journey through a haunted house, peppered with moments of proper darkness." - Tariq Ashkanani
"A unique jewel box of a book - tense locked room thriller meets haunted house gothic, pulled off with immense skill." - Lizzy Barber
"Hauntingly creepy, this twisty, layered thriller will upend your expectations and spin you deep into a house of dark secrets. I utterly lost track of right and wrong, and was gunning all the way for my new favourite heroine." - Rachael Blok
"An elegant, Gothic delight with an eerie seam running through every page. Read on a dark, cold night if you dare." - Victoria Dowd
"Eerie, menacing, and totally original." - Philippa East
"Totally unique, I haven't read anything like this for a long time, not since the heady days of Iain Banks' unpredictably dark novels. The sinister suspense that builds up as elderly Pera takes us on a tour of her ghostly family home is masterful. This book will stay with me for a long time." - Jo Furniss
"Sinuous, slippery, and wrong foots you at every turn. I've never read anything like it." - Tim Glister
"Suspenseful, evocative, dark and original. Highly recommended." - Diane Jeffrey
"An original take on the secrets that houses keep, with every page drenched in foreboding. The Underhistory has all the hallmarks of a contemporary gothic classic." - Erin Kelly
"An inventive, layered haunted house novel, where ghosts reside amid the dust and each room holds its own message for the unwary visitor. Kaaron Warren is one of a kind." - Alison Littlewood
"Hauntingly dark and beautifully written, The Underhistory keeps you on edge throughout. There are moments of humour interspersed with tragedy and fear. A brilliant read with a wonderful protagonist." - Guy Morpuss
"A remarkable tour de force of a novel from a master storyteller. The structure of the novel is innovative and the tension never flags, while Pera is an extraordinary and satisfyingly ambiguous narrator. Startlingly good." - Leonora Nattrass
"Unusual, clever, poetic, haunting and utterly thrilling." - Louise Swanson
"A heartfelt and chilling gothic tragedy. Unbearably creepy, original and devastating." - Chris Whitaker
"A unique jewel box of a book - tense locked room thriller meets haunted house gothic, pulled off with immense skill." - Lizzy Barber
"Hauntingly creepy, this twisty, layered thriller will upend your expectations and spin you deep into a house of dark secrets. I utterly lost track of right and wrong, and was gunning all the way for my new favourite heroine." - Rachael Blok
"An elegant, Gothic delight with an eerie seam running through every page. Read on a dark, cold night if you dare." - Victoria Dowd
"Eerie, menacing, and totally original." - Philippa East
"Totally unique, I haven't read anything like this for a long time, not since the heady days of Iain Banks' unpredictably dark novels. The sinister suspense that builds up as elderly Pera takes us on a tour of her ghostly family home is masterful. This book will stay with me for a long time." - Jo Furniss
"Sinuous, slippery, and wrong foots you at every turn. I've never read anything like it." - Tim Glister
"Suspenseful, evocative, dark and original. Highly recommended." - Diane Jeffrey
"An original take on the secrets that houses keep, with every page drenched in foreboding. The Underhistory has all the hallmarks of a contemporary gothic classic." - Erin Kelly
"An inventive, layered haunted house novel, where ghosts reside amid the dust and each room holds its own message for the unwary visitor. Kaaron Warren is one of a kind." - Alison Littlewood
"Hauntingly dark and beautifully written, The Underhistory keeps you on edge throughout. There are moments of humour interspersed with tragedy and fear. A brilliant read with a wonderful protagonist." - Guy Morpuss
"A remarkable tour de force of a novel from a master storyteller. The structure of the novel is innovative and the tension never flags, while Pera is an extraordinary and satisfyingly ambiguous narrator. Startlingly good." - Leonora Nattrass
"Unusual, clever, poetic, haunting and utterly thrilling." - Louise Swanson
"A heartfelt and chilling gothic tragedy. Unbearably creepy, original and devastating." - Chris Whitaker
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Used availability for Kaaron Warren's The Underhistory