Synopsis
Mary Rose Moreland
and Simon Blake are the perfect couple: successful young professionals in
Philadelphia, attractive, madly in love, and ready to start a life together.
When they travel to England for Simon to ask her parents’ permission to marry
Mary Rose, he learns an unsettling secret: Mary Rose disappeared when she was a
little girl while the family was vacationing on a remote Scottish island. She
reappeared mysteriously thirty-three days later in the exact same spot without
a scratch on her and no memory of what had happened.
After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.
Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.
After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.
Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.
Praise for MARY
ROSE
"An exceptional gothic thriller. Girard's literary roots shine through, and the dread rises with every turn of the page. Mary Rose will send a true chill down your spine. A haunting, scary, and beautifully written novel." ―J.T. Ellison, NYT bestselling author of LIE TO ME
"Girard's eerie descriptions exploit the fear of the unknown and the unnatural; and secretive characters, including the enigmatic island, hide their intentions. This is a nightmarish tale of repressed memories and misdirection." ―Publishers Weekly
"The supernatural terror in MARY ROSE is masterfully invoked via a setting that quietly feeds on the past. Yet the novel's most chilling element is its aching and desperate love story. The titular character is as multifaceted as a dark gem, and Geoffrey Girard's genius is in his ability to cause fear of, and for, Mary Rose at the same time. MARY ROSEhas the effect of burrowing under your skin, lodging next to your throat - and then your heart." ―Vicki Pettersson, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author of SWERVE and SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC series
"Mary Rose is an elegant, classic ghost story that is, at once, truly literate and truly scary. Geoffrey Girard is a storyteller at the top of his game." ―Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 NY Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Two if by Sea
"An exceptional gothic thriller. Girard's literary roots shine through, and the dread rises with every turn of the page. Mary Rose will send a true chill down your spine. A haunting, scary, and beautifully written novel." ―J.T. Ellison, NYT bestselling author of LIE TO ME
"Girard's eerie descriptions exploit the fear of the unknown and the unnatural; and secretive characters, including the enigmatic island, hide their intentions. This is a nightmarish tale of repressed memories and misdirection." ―Publishers Weekly
"The supernatural terror in MARY ROSE is masterfully invoked via a setting that quietly feeds on the past. Yet the novel's most chilling element is its aching and desperate love story. The titular character is as multifaceted as a dark gem, and Geoffrey Girard's genius is in his ability to cause fear of, and for, Mary Rose at the same time. MARY ROSEhas the effect of burrowing under your skin, lodging next to your throat - and then your heart." ―Vicki Pettersson, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author of SWERVE and SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC series
"Mary Rose is an elegant, classic ghost story that is, at once, truly literate and truly scary. Geoffrey Girard is a storyteller at the top of his game." ―Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 NY Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Two if by Sea
Interview with Geoffrey
Girard
What inspired you to write Mary Rose?
Mary Rose was a play by J.M.
Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan, and
tells the story of a young woman who disappeared from a mysterious island as a
little girl and returned a month later as inexplicably as she vanished. This
event haunts her – in all possible ways – into her adult life as she and her
fiancé hope to get to the bottom of things before the past completely consumes
her. It’s a psychological thriller and classic ghost novel rolled into one. A
movie studio and its publishing arm liked my first thriller, Cain’s Blood, and asked me to take the
play and reimagine it for a modern audience.
Can
you tell us a little bit about what you have planned for the future?
Writing a nonfiction book set in feudal
Japan for Harper Collins; spent three magnificent weeks in Japan this summer.
And, a penname of mine is now working on a historical adventure novel.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the characters in Mary Rose?
Mary Rose and Simon are two young adults at the start of what should be a great
life. They love each other very much, they’ve both got promising careers, etc.
But something in Mary Rose’s past is lurking with them, and it’s something
they’re both trying to unravel, and then resolve, in different ways. I think,
just like with real people, it would be a mistake to jump to any conclusions on
the things they sometimes say or do.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your
favorite author and why?
One? John Irving always knocks me over and is a perfect author in every way I understand what writing is supposed to be: reveals life in a way that makes sense. Peter Straub wrote two of my top ten favorite books: beautiful language, big ideas. My first born son’s middle name is Tolkien: for me, it all started with Middle Earth.
One? John Irving always knocks me over and is a perfect author in every way I understand what writing is supposed to be: reveals life in a way that makes sense. Peter Straub wrote two of my top ten favorite books: beautiful language, big ideas. My first born son’s middle name is Tolkien: for me, it all started with Middle Earth.
If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or
the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this
particular time period?
Future. Would
like to see how it all turns out. I portray myself as a half-empty guy, but
only because I’m a very disappointed optimist. I still believe, in the end, we
got this.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat?
Or any pets?
Zoey and Joan Jett. Two gals, both mutts from the pound. We just got back from a hike in the woods. And a bearded dragon named Zeus.
Zoey and Joan Jett. Two gals, both mutts from the pound. We just got back from a hike in the woods. And a bearded dragon named Zeus.
Thanks
for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Geoffrey
Girard writes
thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction. His first book, Tales of
the Jersey Devil, thirteen original tales based on American folklore, was
published by Middle Atlantic Pressin 2005, followed by Tales of the Atlantic
Pirates (2006) and Tales of the Eastern Indians (2007). Simon and Schuster
published two Girard novels simultaneously in 2013: CAIN'S BLOOD, a
techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a companion novel for teen/YA
readers which was nominated for a Bram Stoker award for "Superior
Achievement in a Young Adult Novel."
In 2017, Carolrhoda Books published TRUTHERS, a YA novel about the 9/11 conspiracy, and Adaptive Books published MARY ROSE, a psychological thriller/ghost novel.
Girard's short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Prime Codex, Aoife's Kiss, The Willows, Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology. The debut collection of his short fiction, first communions, was published by Apex Books in May, 2016.
Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio and is the English Department Chair at a famed private boys' high school. Prior to teaching, he worked as an advertising copywriter, web developer and marketing manager. He has a BA in English literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University, where he is now working on an MFA. He has presented and led workshops on creative writing at schools, bookstores and various writers' conventions/events.
In 2017, Carolrhoda Books published TRUTHERS, a YA novel about the 9/11 conspiracy, and Adaptive Books published MARY ROSE, a psychological thriller/ghost novel.
Girard's short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Prime Codex, Aoife's Kiss, The Willows, Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology. The debut collection of his short fiction, first communions, was published by Apex Books in May, 2016.
Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio and is the English Department Chair at a famed private boys' high school. Prior to teaching, he worked as an advertising copywriter, web developer and marketing manager. He has a BA in English literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University, where he is now working on an MFA. He has presented and led workshops on creative writing at schools, bookstores and various writers' conventions/events.
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