Author: A. Rushby
Genres: Fiction, Genre Fiction
Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the final anatomical Venus in a dangerously intertwined trio. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students to study female anatomy, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what she must do: sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all.
London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.
As past and present begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them.
The problem is, Elizabeth is not ready to burn. Far from it. Centuries on, she is determined to rise again, and she will obliterate anything standing in her path. Including Alys herself.
“Ferociously feminist body horror with a sentimental heart.”
- Kirkus Reviews“Tense and fast-paced with refreshingly unique supernatural elements.”
- Publisher’s Weekly“Original, terrifying, & compelling, supernatural horror story.”
- Booklist“She has written a story of dread that burns slowly and eventually intensifies to an inescapable fire; it’s as heartbreaking as it is vicious.”
- Pop Horror“Slashed Beauties has the most unique idea for a story I’ve ever come across, and I’ve read some unique stories!”
- Books, Bones & Buffy“If you enjoy a Gothic horror with a weird, medical twist, you will devour Slashed Beauties.”
- Game Vortex“I’m still thinking about it every day, and I dare say this has become my favorite read this year.”
- FanFiAddict
Author: A. Rushby
Genres: Fiction, Genre Fiction
Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the final anatomical Venus in a dangerously intertwined trio. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students to study female anatomy, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what she must do: sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all.
London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.
As past and present begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them.
The problem is, Elizabeth is not ready to burn. Far from it. Centuries on, she is determined to rise again, and she will obliterate anything standing in her path. Including Alys herself.
“Ferociously feminist body horror with a sentimental heart.”
- Kirkus Reviews“Tense and fast-paced with refreshingly unique supernatural elements.”
- Publisher’s Weekly“Original, terrifying, & compelling, supernatural horror story.”
- Booklist“She has written a story of dread that burns slowly and eventually intensifies to an inescapable fire; it’s as heartbreaking as it is vicious.”
- Pop Horror“Slashed Beauties has the most unique idea for a story I’ve ever come across, and I’ve read some unique stories!”
- Books, Bones & Buffy“If you enjoy a Gothic horror with a weird, medical twist, you will devour Slashed Beauties.”
- Game Vortex“I’m still thinking about it every day, and I dare say this has become my favorite read this year.”
- FanFiAddict
Verve
Berkley (PRH)
September 23rd, 2025
Australian (HQ)
