I’m ready to be part of something bigger, I told myself, whispering the words over and over, visualizing myself at the centre of things, never alone again.

Leaving behind her childhood in coastal Scotland, neurodivergent Ivy Graveson arrives at a prestigious university and throws herself into the deep end of life on campus.

Though her fellow students all seem to come from money and to have known each other their whole lives, outsider Ivy is determined to belong. She embraces the world of secret societies, and as she discovers the legacy of her college, the parallels between its past and her present become striking. Because however hard she tries to ignore it, Ivy has always felt one with water and her own personal talisman, a heron, is never far away.

In just one life-changing year in these hallowed halls, Ivy will have to decide how much sisterhood means to her and how far she’ll go to become the person she was destined to be.

A richly atmospheric campus novel perfect for fans of The Secret History and dark academia, These Mortal Bodies is an intoxicating story of obsession, infatuation and toxic friendship in the world of the elites, where rules are made to be broken.

‘Builds tension and atmosphere with a quiet creepiness as it hurtles towards a shocking conclusion. It’s refreshing to have read about a protagonist with neurodivergence where it’s portrayed without cliché and with bold authenticity’ Chris Bridges, author of Sick to Death

‘A delicious coming of age story with a dark academia twist... Gripping and beautifully told, Elspeth Wilson has breathed life into her characters that will linger long after the final page’ Laura Elliott, author of Awakened

‘This book is peak dark academia’ Reader review

‘Absolutely brilliant’ Reader review

‘An enticing and unsettling look at how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of belonging’ Reader review

‘Engaging, dark and twisty’ Reader review

‘A mystery of local witch trials and the introduction of women accessing academia and the way this may all be intertwined with the societies we’ve met is truly mindblowingly out of this world’ Reader review

‘Blurs the lines between traditions and rituals, power and mysticism’ Reader review

‘Explores the murky waters of “sisterhood” and questions whether the character’s relationships are virtuous, treacherous, toxic or a mix… a page turner’ Reader review

‘I was hooked’ Reader review