ITCH!

READERS LOVE GEMMA'S DARK, ITCHY WORLD ---- 'If you are after something that is both shocking and horrifically beautiful then take a journey and discover this little atrocity for yourself' ---- 'I kept telling myself I really should turn off the light and get to bed now, eyes dry, head heavy, but every sentence in this book commands the reader keep turning the pages and press onward...' ---- 'Gemma pulled me in with this compelling tale. Each page turned yielded me to another. I couldn't stop. Seriously!' ---- Josie is at rock bottom, living a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean. When she stumbles across a decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, Josie plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past - all whilst battling a growing infestation of her mind . . . and her flesh. Desperate to solve the case, Josie scratches the surface of an age-old mystery - a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by folklore. As the village prepares for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask herself: Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth? Or is she their next victim? ---- ---- 'A deeply felt, haunting folk horror that crawls with secrets and darkness. This disturbing and tender novel possessed me and made my skin crawl. It will keep you up long into the night!' LUCY ROSE, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb ---- ---- 'From the first page, this story is already under your skin, building a nest in your heart' KYLIE LEE BAKER, New York Times bestselling author of Bat Eater ---- ---- 'A chilling and tremendously disturbing examination of a wounded mind . . . Sinister and utterly fiendish, ITCH! is a shocking and truly surprising blend of mystery, folk horror, and body horror that will burrow deep in your softest places, into your tenderest, most unspoiled secret parts' ERIC LAROCCA, award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke ---- ---- 'ITCH! places Gemma Amor firmly at the top of today's horror talent pool . . . I couldn't have loved this more. It's under my skin now, and it itches! One of the year's absolute must-reads! CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Birds and The House of Last Resort ---- ---- 'An exquisitely crafted, uniquely unnerving horror story told with stunning empathy. ITCH! has all the makings of a horror classic' RACHEL HARRISON, USA TODAY bestselling author of So Thirsty ----

Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated horror author, editor, illustrator, and podcaster based in Bristol, UK. She was named one of Esquire's Writers Shaping Horror's Next Golden Age, and recently featured in Ellen Datlow's prestigious Best Horror of the Year anthology, Vol. 15. Gemma loves to write about misunderstood monsters, both human and supernatural, as well as feminist horror. Itch! is her first novel with Hodder & Stoughton.