Content levels
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
They cut his hands off because they thought he was the Devil. How else could he play the piano without ever taking a lesson? As they threw his mangled body over the cliffs, into the boiling sea, he uttered a curse: death to every one of the descendants of his murderers. It was 1788, and most people in the sleepy town of First Landing, Maine believed in black magic. They were glad he was gone. Nobody believed in curses anymore, especially sensible Diane Whitehead, who brought her husband and two children to Maine for a vacation—and to trace her ancestry in the picture-perfect town of First Landing. Diane was delighted to be able to rent the very house where her forebears had lived—until strange things began to happen. Poltergeists. Precipices that fell into the sea. Disembodied hands. Hideous deaths. Eerie music. And then one night, Diane's pretty seven-year-old daughter began to play the piano—without ever taking a lesson. The music was beautiful. Too beautiful to be anything but a deathsong.
Deathsong: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This dark fantasy horror novel contains graphic violence including dismemberment and mutilation, supernatural possession of a child, and multiple gruesome deaths. The premise involves a 1788 curse manifesting through a young girl, with disturbing imagery including disembodied hands and violent supernatural attacks.
What to know going in
This book has strong violence, no sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include child harm, graphic violence, murder, and death (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens drawn to supernatural horror with strong psychological dread and classic curse narratives will find this compelling.