Cheryl R Cowtan

Girl Desecrated Cheryl R Cowtan

A Supernatural Suspense Thriller

Winner of the IndieBrag award and ranked 9/10 for originality by Publisher Weekly BookLife Magazine, who claimed this novel "blends horror and thriller seamlessly", "Girl Desecrated" is a "standout in an overcrowded genre"!

After turning 18, Rachel finds her alternate personality, Scarlett, stronger than ever and begins a struggle for control over their shared body that can only end with one of them buried alive. Rachel's inner strength, honed through a life of abuse and loneliness, will now be needed to overcome the secret heritage rising in her blood.

Unraveling an ancient curse tied to her "madness", Rachel is soon caught up in a violent turmoil of destiny tied to a Scottish clan from the 11th century. Aching for love and only wanting to be normal, Rachel is prey to newly arrived Scotsman, Angus and his old fashioned Highland gallantry. Determined to have a good life, hoping to hold Angus in a normal relationship, Rachel struggles against her alternate personality who craves Angus' flesh.

Seeking help, Rachel visits the asylum that has kept her religiously fanatical mother locked up for years. Turned from God by her mother's ravings, Rachel resists the light and faith within herself, even as Scarlett tries to bury all that is good, and calls forth those who would battle for Rachel's soul--those who have been planted in her life awaiting the rising of The Fergus She.

As Rachel faces down the diabolical instincts fired by her "other", sets her sights on the Highlander from across the seas, and denies her destiny, she will need all the rage, all the resilience, and all the remarkable will to live that has so far kept her sane in a life of madness.

"This is the best book I've read in a long time...a deliciously dark, character-driven, psychological, Gothic fantasy. ... At times, the writing is stunningly beautiful and at other times raw and thrilling." -E. M. G. Wixley, author of The Witchfinder Series

"Girl Desecrated is a stand out in a crowded genre. I tore through it. The use of the vampire metaphor to explore issues associated with mental illness, and the search for identity in the context of an abusive past, gives the book a powerful undercurrent." -Kathleen McFall, author of The Cowboy and The Vampire Series

"A standout in an overcrowded genre!"
"Freaked the hell out of me!"
"An unceasing flow of suspenseful storytelling, of threat and survival, of loyalty and treachery."
"A novel of hypnotic beauty and shocking impact."