Grasshopper Vine, Barbara

A man obsessed with an orchid. A woman who knows too much. Barbara Vine — Ruth Rendell's darker, more psychological alter ego — spins a tale of long-buried secrets that refuse to stay hidden. When Clodagh returns to the crumbling Victorian house where she spent childhood summers, she's haunted by memories of her enigmatic uncle and the strange, beautiful orchid he cultivated: the grasshopper vine. But what begins as nostalgia curdles into something far more sinister as Clodagh unearths family lies that reach back decades. Vine's prose is slow-burn menace — she builds dread with the patience of a master, letting tension accumulate like dust in an abandoned room. If you loved The Little Stranger or anything by Tana French, this atmospheric psychological thriller will keep you reading deep into the night, questioning every memory and motive.