A writer of novels and short stories.
A collection of short stories
Iris has never left the big house in the country she shares with Mammy and the servants. When the Ladies arrive, she finds that she must appease her dead relatives. Other stories in this collection explore themes of motherhood and the fragile body, family dynamics and small town tensions, unusual traditions and metamorphosis.
Not for the faint-hearted, Dead Relatives invites you behind closed doors, and will leave you wondering if it’s better that they’re kept shut and firmly locked.
‘This short-story collection confirms the author’s reputation in the field of literary horror. The title story is a miniature gothic novel with a sensibility reminiscent of Carson McCullers or Flannery O’Connor.’
The Guardian
‘McKnight Hardy makes full use of the short story’s ability to deliver a sharp shock, and these tales produce more than a few shivers.’
The Times
‘There is definitely a whisper of Shirley Jackson in the dank, creepy atmosphere that spreads across these stories. Dead Relatives is brilliantly atmospheric, deadly dark and relentlessly creepy, an exemplary collection of modern horror.’
The Big Issue
‘Deftly woven with elements of folk horror and some truly gruesome detail, these stories are a dark masterclass in suspense.’
Mslexia
‘Original, thrilling, handling touches of folk horror and difficult subject matter with equal deftness. They are haunting and disorientating pieces, with enough left unsaid to warrant multiple readings, though resolution will likely remain elusive.’
New Welsh Review
‘Lucie McKnight Hardy’s writing is compulsively and exquisitely horrifying.’
Naomi Booth, Exit Management and Sealed
‘Macabre and menacing, I loved every one of these stories.’
Heidi James, The Sound Mirror
‘Sensory, tactile and terrifying…Lucie McKnight Hardy can captivate with a single sentence.’
Stephen Volk, Ghostwatch and Afterlife
‘Eerie in many different and unexpected ways, Dead Relatives is full of strangeness, cold brutality and creeping dread. Tense and unforgettable.’
Alice Ash, Paradise Block
‘These gorgeous and horrible stories will break your heart and stamp on the pieces. Further proof that Lucie McKnight Hardy is one of the most exciting names in horror today.’
Kylie Whitehead, Absorbed
‘From the luscious, quiet horror of the title story, to the short, sharp shocks that follow, Lucie McKnight Hardy’s tales never fail to unsettle and enthral in equal measure. This is a remarkable collection.’
Alison Littlewood, The Cottingley Cuckoo
‘Lucie McKnight Hardy is a fabulous writer, subtle and playful and unswerving, and this anthology is utterly compelling, filled with intimate horrors and unforgettable monsters.’
Amanda Mason, The Wayward Girls and The Hiding Place