The House of Salt and Sorrows

Craig, Erin A. The House of Salt and Sorrows. 2019. 403p. ISBN 9781984831927. Available at FIC CRA on the library shelves. 

Annaleigh is one of twelve sisters, and stands as the sixth in line for the title of Duchess of Highmoor, on the island of Salann, located by the sea many leagues away from the kingdom's capital. Over the last six years, the four oldest girls have all suffered accidental but tragic deaths, giving raise to the rumor that they are cursed. The sisters' mother died giving birth to the youngest, and their father was distraught for years until he married a noble from away. 

As the family buries Eulalie, fourth eldest, Annaleigh stumbles upon evidence that she might have been pushed off the cliff. Investigating, she discovers that Eulalie was planning to elope that very night, as she did not want to become duchess. As Annaleigh investigates, she discovers that the manor is haunted by the ghosts of the dead girls, and that her youngest sister, Verity, is seeing them too. With the help of Cassius, a mysterious son of a local ship captain, and Fisher, the son of their nursemaid who works at the lighthouse, Anneleigh searches for the truth, but as she digs deeper, she begins questioning her own sanity as others do not notice what is truly happening to them.

Camille, now in line for the title as the eldest surviving daughter, find a door that leads to a place of dazzling balls, and the surviving girls begin spending most of their evenings dancing away. Anneleigh becomes suspicious of their hosts, and wonder whether they are in fact dancing at all, instead of being involved in something more sinister that threatens all of the lives.

As the ghosts close in on Anneleigh, it becomes increasingly clear that she is an unreliable narrator. Are there ghosts affecting the family, or is she going crazy under the stress of losing yet another sister? The world is well built, but the characters themselves are for the most part templates of each other, with only a name to set them apart from each other. Fans of fantasy will appreciate the writing and will enjoy trying to figure out what is truly happening on Salann.