Anna Mazzola – författare

''Historical fiction with a fantastical twist, done with verve and skill'' IAN RANKIN''An atmospheric and constantly surprising thriller'' SUNDAY TIMES''Kept me guessing until the end. An absolute masterpiece'' JENNIFER SAINT''A deliciously dark historical novel of thrilling originality'' ESSIE FOX''Spellbinding, gripping, immersive and deliciously gothic'' ERIN KELLY''Evocative, chilling, compelling'' TAMMY COHEN''Breathtakingly good'' ABIR MUKHERJEE

Paris, 1750.

In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city''s celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.

Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker''s experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.

For as children quietly vanish from the Parisian streets, rumours are swirling that the clockmaker''s intricate mechanical creations, bejewelled birds and silver spiders, are more than they seem.

And soon Madeleine fears that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might reach to the very heart of Versailles...

A intoxicating story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom.

WINNER OF THE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE FINGERPRINT AWARDS 2024!*Picked as one of the best historical novels of 2023 by The Times!*''A creepy, chilling story - another Anna Mazzola triumph!'' JENNIFER SAINT''Chilling and compelling, with echoes of Daphne du Maurier''s Rebecca'' ESSIE FOXSometimes the secrets of the past are more dangerous than the present...Rome, 1938.As the world teeters on the brink of war, talented pianist Eva Valenti enters the house of widower Dante Cavallera to become his new wife.On the outside, the forces of Fascism are accelerating, but in her new home, Eva fears that something else is at work, whispering in the walls and leaving mysterious marks on Dante''s young daughter.Soon she starts to wonder whether the house itself is trying to give up the secrets of its mysterious past - secrets that Dante seems so determined to keep hidden.However, Eva must also conceal the truth of her own identity, for if she is discovered, she will be in greater danger than she could ever have imagined...***Praise for The House of Whispers:''Mazzola builds up tension skilfully in a story that flirts with the supernatural as it moves towards a fiery conclusion'' SUNDAY TIMES''This gothic ghost novel will keep you reading well into the night'' GLAMOUR''Utterly brilliant. It''s Rebecca meets Winter in Madrid with a sprinkling of Mazzola magic'' LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON''An atmospheric spine-tingler'' HEAT''Packed with political and emotional intrigue, historically rich and deeply unsettling'' SARAH HILARY''Deliciously creepy'' WOMAN''S WEEKLY''Absolutely brilliant. Gripping, beautifully written and properly chilling'' CAROLINE GREEN''Atmospheric and unsettling'' DAILY RECORD''Beautiful, chilling, and darkly enchanting. Anna Mazzola is a truly gifted storyteller'' CHRIS WHITAKER''A sinister gothic tale'' COSMO''I ripped through The House of Whispers in double quick time'' JAMES OSWALD''A deliciously creepy tale from the masterful Anna Mazzola'' WOMAN''Robert Harris meets M.R. James in an evocative gothic tale'' DAVID HEWSON''A gothic tale of political and psychological terror'' GUARDIAN''The sense of place is impeccable, the sense of danger truly chilling'' SINEAD CROWLEY''A delicately told ghost story set in the bright heat of 1930''s Italy. Claustrophobic and compelling'' AMANDA MASON

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Crime Novel of the Year Award 2025!

''Vividly alive with menace, magic, and mystery'' ESSIE FOX

''A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure'' DAILY MAIL

''A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work'' THE TIMES

Rome, 1659.Some secrets are worth dying for...

Girolama Spana lives west of the river Tiber in a house marked by a lily and a garden full of herbs. Many women in Rome seek her help - although they would never admit it - eager for her mysterious balms, her love potions, and her ability to predict their futures.Even against the splendour of the Eternal City, Giroloma''s secret recipes are the women''s most precious possessions - and their husbands'' most feared. So when men are reported dying in unnatural numbers, the gaze of Stefano Bracchi, prosecutor for the papal authorities, falls quickly on Girolama and her suspected sorcery.Soon she will face the greatest danger she has ever known - but Girolama has always vowed that in life there are secrets we write down, secrets we pass on, and some that we carry to our deaths...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.

Praise for The Book of Secrets:

''Exceptional. Anna Mazzola''s finest work yet'' ELODIE HARPER

''Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined'' TAMMY COHEN

''Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing'' CAROLINE LEA

''This gripping novel blends a colourful historical setting with the pace of a crime thriller'' WOMAN''S WEEKLY

''Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!'' JAMES OSWALD

''Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric'' ANDREW TAYLOR

''Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola'' CAROLINE GREEN

''A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women''s rights are being called into question. Magnificent'' LIZ NUGENT

''A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge''HELEN FIELDS

''A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!''D V BISHOP''I couldn''t put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it'' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN

''A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book'' TARIQ ASHKANANI

''Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers'' AJ WEST''A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times'' CATE QUINN

''Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning'' RACHEL WOLF''Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought'' FREYA BERRY

''Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!'' REBECCA NETLEY

Set in London in 1837, Anna Mazzola''s THE UNSEEING is the story of Sarah Gale, a seamstress and mother, sentenced to hang for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown on the eve of her wedding. Perfect for any reader of Sarah Waters or Antonia Hodgson.

''A twisting tale of family secrets and unacknowledged desires. Intricately plotted and extremely convincing in its evocation of the everyday realities of 1830s London, this is a fine first novel'' - The Sunday Times

After Sarah petitions for mercy, Edmund Fleetwood is appointed to investigate and consider whether justice has been done. Idealistic, but struggling with his own demons, Edmund is determined to seek out the truth. Yet Sarah refuses to help him, neither lying nor adding anything to the evidence gathered in court. Edmund knows she''s hiding something, but needs to discover just why she''s maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone would willingly go to their own death?

From the author of THE UNSEEING comes a sizzling, period novel of folk tales, disappearances and injustice set on the Isle of Skye, sure to appeal to readers of Hannah Kent''s BURIAL RITES or Beth Underdown''s THE WITCH FINDER''S SISTER.

Longlisted for the 2018 Highland Book Prize

''A wonderful combination of a thrilling mystery and a perfectly depicted period piece'' Sunday Mirror

Audrey Hart is on the Isle of Skye to collect the folk and fairy tales of the people and communities around her. It is 1857 and the Highland Clearances have left devastation and poverty, and a community riven by fear. The crofters are suspicious and hostile to a stranger, claiming they no longer know their fireside stories. Then Audrey discovers the body of a young girl washed up on the beach and the crofters reveal that it is only a matter of weeks since another girl disappeared. They believe the girls are the victims of the restless dead: spirits who take the form of birds. Initially, Audrey is sure the girls are being abducted, but as events accumulate she begins to wonder if something else is at work. Something which may be linked to the death of her own mother, many years before.