A novel, ‘Water Shall Refuse Them’, published by Dead Ink Books
The heatwave of 1976. Following the accidental drowning of her sister, sixteen-year-old Nif and her family move to a small village on the Welsh borders to escape their grief. But rural seclusion doesn’t bring any relief. As her family unravels, Nif begins to put together her own form of witchcraft – collecting talismans from the sun-starved land. That is, until she meets Mally, a teen boy who takes a keen interest in her, and has his own secret rites to divulge.
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‘McKnight Hardy skilfully captures the mood of the 70s, the hostility of an entrenched community and the power of superstitious belief. Expertly juxtaposing folk horror and everyday reality, this impressive debut conveys an atmosphere of imminent menace.’
The Guardian
‘McKnight Hardy's tense and brooding novel explores the very darkest places of grief, interweaving the guilt of the living with weird folklore, empty religion and a coming of age story where the threat of violence shimmers like a heat haze.’
Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney
‘Something strong, vivid and disquieting grows tall from Folk Horror soil in this novel.’
Aliya Whiteley, The Arrival of Missives
‘The book does not disappoint, inhabiting the same fictional universe as Daphne du Maurier’s Don’t Look Now or Paul Theroux’s The Black House…an assured and impressively dark literary thriller.’
The Culture Vulture
‘Lucie McKnight Hardy brings a slick perfectionism to the genre of folk horror…a fine writer, sensitive to detail and with a knack for gruesome imagery.’
Black Static