‘RADCLIFFE’ is a gothic novella set in a sweltering Melbourne summer, where death is coming for one of the residents. This story has everything we love – an Australian setting, memorable characters, and genuine intrigue – and has been written wonderfully by an exceptional author, Madeleine D’Este.
Madeleine’s writing is superb, effortlessly bringing to life the Victorian-era apartment building and the five weird women who live there.
Here’s a little about RADCLIFFE from Madeleine herself:
‘Death is coming’- this phrase randomly dropped into my head one day. I’ve always been intrigued by the paranormal and how would I react if I received a strange premonition of death but without knowing who, when or how? From there, Radcliffe and the main character, Tamsin, was born.
Radcliffe, a ramshackle Victorian-era apartment building, is described by one character as a ‘weird building filled with weird women’ and was inspired by my own love of gothic fiction. But gothic fiction is not constrained to bleak manor houses on lonely moors during wild storms, gothic fiction can happen anywhere, even in Melbourne during a fierce February heatwave.
Tamsin is led by a voice through sweltering streets to a shabby apartment building with a ‘For Rent’ sign in the window. She finds herself knocking on the door and taking the lease on the dismal little ground-floor flat. She moves in and begins her search for the person who death is coming for, the person she’s been sent to save.
But which of the tenants is in danger? Is it Bunty, the octogenarian ex-ballerina or her grand-daughter student Cecily? Or is Defne, the erratic photographer or Riko, the spooky musician? Or Gail, the reclusive writer?
Who is death coming for?
And can Tamsin stop it?
RADCLIFFE will be coming out soon, and we are very excited to share this wonderful story with you!
Madeleine grew up in Tasmania, but now lives in inner-city Melbourne surrounded by books. After studying law (and never practising) and travelling the world, she now lives a double life, immersed in the corporate world by day and writing female-led speculative and mystery fiction by night. When not writing, Madeleine enjoys podcasts, knitting, forteana, indie films, kettle bells and likes her coffee as ‘black as midnight on a moonless night’.
To find out more about the author, visit her website – madeleinedeste.com.