On a sweltering August morning in 1972, a young art student is found hanging from a tree, posed like the Hanged Man from a tarot deck—and that image sets the tone for Jennifer Murphy’s The Ghost Women, a lush, angry, and often mesmerizing novel about power, vengeance, and the women history tried to erase. Releasing February 24, 2026, this is a book steeped in atmosphere: a remote art academy housed in a former monastery, whispers of witch trials, ancient tarot cards, and long-dead women who may not be finished speaking.
When Detective Lola Germany arrives at St. Luke’s Institute of the Arts to investigate the death of Abel Montague, she quickly realizes this is no straightforward suicide. An ancient Hanged Man tarot card tucked into his pocket—and his body arranged to mirror it—points toward ritual. As more students are discovered staged like figures from the deck, Lola finds herself navigating a campus brimming with secrets, ambition, and a self-proclaimed coven of young women who may know more than they’re willing to say.
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Write on the World 