A gripping mixture of psychological suspense and historical true crime, this riveting novel-inspired by a sensational real-life murder from your 1800s-by critically acclaimed author Emily Arsenault delivers a heart-stopping mystery linking two young moms from different decades.

Frances Barnett and Abby Bernacki are two haunted young mothers living in the same home in two different hundreds of years.

1885: Frances Barnett is in the Northampton Lunatic Medical center, telling her story to a visitor. She’s about The Evening Spider: A Book come to distrust her very own memories, and thinks that her pregnancy, birth, and early days of motherhood may have impaired her sanity.

Through the earliest months of her baby’s life, Frances eagerly adopted the famous murder trial of Mary Stannard-that captivated New Englanders using its salacious points and expert forensic testimony. Following-and even attending-this trial, Frances discovered an escape from the monotony of new motherhood. But mainly because her tale unfolds, Frances must confess that her obsession with the facts of the murder weren’t entirely innocent.

Current: Abby continues to be adjusting to motherhood smoothly-until recently, when unusual sensations and dreams have begun to unsettle her while home alone with her baby. When she begins to query the house’s background, she is provided the diary of Frances Barnett, who lived in the house 125 years previous. Abby finds the diary disturbing, and researches the Barnett family’s history. The greater Abby learns, the more she wonders in regards to a negative-possibly supernatural-influence in her house. She becomes convinced that whenever she sleeps, she leaves her little girl vulnerable-and after that vows not to sleep until she can determine the reason for her eerie experiences.

Frances Barnett might not be the only new mother to lose her mind in this house. And like Frances, Abby discovers that by trying to uncover another’s secrets, she dangers awakening a few of her own.