Bone Rites by Natalie Bayley

"I collected the first bone when I was twelve. This fact was not mentioned in court... Such a tiny little bone, more like a tooth. I only kept it to keep him safe."

Holloway prison, 1925. Dr Kathryn Darkling, branded The Westminster Vampire by the press, has two weeks until she is hanged for a series of brutal murders. Facing death, she knows that time is running out to complete her mission. Will she find a way to escape her fate?

And how will she perform the special ritual that will save her brother?

Winner of The Virginia Prize for Fiction, Bone Rites is a dark, literary tale of love, loss and one woman’s obsessive fight for justice and redemption within a ruthless world.

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Natalie Bayley is author of Bone Rites, Lolita's Daughter, The Secret Life of Grandmothers, The Witch Who Saved Paris and The Lady Lyttle Murder Mystery series. Her dark thriller Bone Rites was selected for the 2019 Blue Pencil long list, went on to be shortlisted for the 2021 Blue Pencil First Novel Award and was long listed for the 2021 Caledonia prize before becoming the Winner of the Virginia Prize for Fiction.

Natalie lives in NSW, Australia and enjoys ocean swimming and whispering to cats.