Margins
Hazelthorn book cover
Hazelthorn
2025
First Published
4.25
Average Rating
360
Number of Pages

CG Drews, acclaimed author of Don't Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow: He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron's charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie. That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander seven years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him. But when Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family's vast wealth. There’s just one caveat: He must choose a new guardian from amongst Laurie's scheming, backstabbing relatives to help manage the estate until he turns eighteen. Except Evander's sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next. Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day. As the family’s dark secrets unravel alongside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

Avg Rating
4.25
Number of Ratings
8,923
5 STARS
49%
4 STARS
33%
3 STARS
14%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
1%
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Author

C.G. Drews
C.G. Drews
Author · 11 books
C.G. Drews is the author of A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES and THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES and the upcoming SKELETON BOYS (2024). C.G.’s work has been translated into six languages and was nominated for the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal and won the 2020 CBCA Honour Award. Currently living in Australia, never sleeps, and is forever buried under a pile of unread books. Find on twitter and Instagram as @paperfury.
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