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A cosmetic surgeon becomes obsessed with a reputed cell-regeneration machine and a mysterious, ageless woman in old photographs in this supernatural novel.

It’s 1974, and Nigel Leary’s terminal cancer means the California surgeon has little time left. But there’s hope, possibly, when Ida Inkettle walks into his office with her father Conrad’s book. It contains his research into “regeneration”; while Ida wants Nigel to use this knowledge to give her back her youth, he sees a potential cure for cancer. With help from his office assistant, Marian Nicks, and Ida’s caretaker, Oliver Cook, Nigel delves into Conrad’s experiments, which began in the late 19th century, with an enigmatic machine. Most of what they discover is grim: Conrad’s experiments on his wife, Eleanor, were akin to torture. But in images from Conrad’s lab, there’s an unknown woman from the 1890s with the same youthful appearance in 1946. Nigel and the others try to identify this woman, who ultimately manifests as an apparition via electrical items, like a television. This may even take precedence over Nigel’s finding a cancer cure, as he’s fixated on the ghostly woman. Answers surely lie in Conrad’s twisted “psychical research”—rife with sinister deeds, including murder. This novel is certainly Lovecraft-ian, particularly Nigel’s growing obsessions and the occasional signs of monstrous forms. Using familiar genre elements, Turner expertly weaves a gripping horror story. The ghostly manifestations are indelible and eerie as the trio gradually unravel the mystery of Conrad’s experiments. Largely unembellished prose allows set pieces to speak for themselves, from traditional moments (dark houses and creaking floors) to the latter half’s unexpected turns. In the same vein, the author’s artwork comprises simple black-and-white sketches of singular items—hauntingly significant to the chapter that each illustration accompanies.

An old-school horror tale that delightfully embraces its inspirations and genre conventions.