In the early 1900s, a young gardener at a lush English manor falls in love with her employer whose past is shrouded in deadly secrets--from...

In the early 1900s, a young gardener at a lush English manor falls in love with her employer whose past is shrouded in deadly secrets--from the author of the "twisty, Gothic thriller" (Entertainment Weekly) Spitting Gold.

In 1925, Vee Morgan arrives at Harfold Manor, a once-grand country estate in Wiltshire, to begin her new post as gardener. She hopes the crumbling manor will offer her a fresh start, far from the darkness of her own past.

But the place is shadowed by grief and memories of long-faded glory, its rooms haunted by the only surviving member of the family, Lady Arabella Lascy. Vee is fascinated by her enigmatic new employer, a woman obsessed with the curse she believes has killed her family one by one and is coming for her next. Arabella's only hope for escape is a local folktale: the fabled dancing hare said to have blessed Hardfold centuries ago.

Drawn ever deeper into the house's secrets and Lady Arabella's spell, Vee soon realizes that the greatest danger may lie not in Harfold's haunting history but in the truths she has tried so hard to bury.

Lush, atmospheric, and charged with desire and dread, A Slow and Secret Poison is a gothic tale of obsession, betrayal, and the perilous bargains we strike with the past.

Author: Carmella Lowkis
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 02/10/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781668024980


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/16/2026
Library Journal 12/01/2025 pg. 75
Booklist 12/01/2025

About the Author
Carmella Lowkis grew up in Wiltshire, UK, and has a degree in English literature and creative writing from the University of Warwick, where she was mentored by Sunday Times (London) bestselling author Sarah Moss. After graduating, she worked in libraries before moving into book marketing. Carmella lives in London with her girlfriend. You can follow her on X and Instagram @CarmellaLowkis. Spitting Gold is her first novel.