Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of The Upstairs Room by Dana Mele, a horror thriller coming from Sourcebooks Fire April 20, 2027! Here’s the story:
A summer of nannying takes a terrifying turn when Blair discovers a legacy of mysterious deaths connected to her employer’s sprawling summer estate…but the secrets Blair is harboring may be just as deadly.
summer is on the remote Pearl Island. Still, nannying for the reclusive Hathorne family off the coast of Maine is hardly an escape from a complicated junior year and home life—especially with all the rules that must be followed.
Stepping onto the island is like traveling back in time. Raven’s Nook, the Hathorne’s estate, sprawls around a century’s-old lighthouse. A cemetery on the property conceals family secrets, a creepy collection of dolls won’t stay put, and a forbidden upstairs room seems to hold the key to what the family is hiding.
The Hathorne children are cold and standoffish, and when they start hazing Blair with a series of escalating—dangerous—pranks, the town’s whispers about the Hathorne curse grow louder. Postcard perfect Pearl Island conceals a sinister history. Blair has dark secrets too, family secrets that have been been passed down for generations, and if Blair’s not careful, this summer will be their last…
And here’s the creeptastic cover by Jana Heidersdorf!
Dana Mele is a Pushcart-nominated author of short stories and YA novels including THE BEAST YOU LET IN. A graduate of Wellesley College, Dana holds degrees in theatre, education, and law.
Dana’s debut, PEOPLE LIKE US, was shortlisted for the 2019 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel and is an ALA Rainbow List Selection. Dana’s sophomore novel, SUMMER’S EDGE, was a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Selection and a New York Public Library Best Books for Teens title. Up next is THE UPSTAIRS ROOM, a YA supernatural thriller forthcoming from Sourcebooks Fire, slated for publication April 20, 2027. Dana lives in Upstate New York with their family.
