When the Hammond family curse strikes again, Scotland Yard sends Detective Inspector John Sterling to investigate what he assumes is a killer with theatrical flair. What he finds requires Luna Bartendale, an expert consultant on all things supernatural, and the prototype for later characters like Agent Scully and Clarice Starling.

Jessie Douglas Kerruish's 1922 novel introduced one of supernatural fiction's first genuinely professional female investigators. Together with Sterling, she confronts an ancient creature that has preyed on the Hammond bloodline for generations, attacking from the treacherous shivering sands surrounding their coastal estate.

This is Gothic horror with the thrilling soul of a noir mystery. Kerruish draws from her Isle of Man folklore roots, creating an atmosphere so thick you can taste the salt spray and dread. But the real innovation is Bartendale herself, competent, unapologetic, and operating with professional remove in a genre that had previously reserved such authority for men.

The monster is real. The curse is intractable. And survival means managing what you cannot defeat.

Perfect for fans of period supernatural investigations, Gothic family curses, and anyone who believes the best horror comes from professional expertise confronting the inexplicable.