Swallow the Ghost

"An up-to-the-minute mystery that defies convention. . . bold and ingenious."

"Jane Murphy is a social media start-up worker whose star is on an inevitable rise. Or so it seems. Swallow The Ghost draws readers into Jane’s world only to open a series of trap doors that plunge us into different perspectives and realities, twisting what we think we know into new and unsettling shapes. Eugenie Montague has created a thrilling, intricate ecosystem of ambition, secrecy, and invention in this remarkable debut."

"Prismatic, shrewd, and darkly funny, Swallow the Ghost is a hypnotic ride through the psyche of three people forever linked by a shocking act of violence. Eugenie Montague’s debut is a twisted nesting doll housing an internet novel, an art monster novel, and a true crime novel that manages to be both deeply of the moment and utterly timeless. I inhaled it."

"At the heart of this unconventional murder mystery lies the enigma of the self: who we are, what drives us, and why we harm ourselves and others. Fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and Susan Choi will love its viscerality and structural inventiveness, while its twists and turns will thrill readers of Tana French and Rebecca Makkai. A truly surprising and original debut."

"Swallow the Ghost is part murder mystery, part philosophical treatise, part head-trip, but all of it is a sheer pleasure to read. It takes the tropes and conventions of a conventional thriller and turns them on their heads. An impressive and wicked debut by Eugenie Montague."

"Swallow the Ghost is bold, breathtaking, and utterly original. Eugenie Montague walks her narrative tightrope fearlessly, delivering a story that is at once a wickedly clever mystery, a thoughtful study of identity in the modern age, and a meditation on the power of narratives."

"Reading this novel feels like picking an intricate lock. This is a mystery—a thrilling, page-turning mystery—but rather than only asking what happened, the arrows here point us inward at the strange landscape of perception and memory and the notion of a self (what’s more mysterious than that?). Eugenie Montague is crazy-smart and Swallow the Ghost is both haunted and haunting."

"As a frequent reader, I have to say it takes a lot to make me actually stop and go, 'Woah!' But that was the reaction I had when finishing the first third of Swallow the Ghost. . . I actually don’t want to share any more of the plot because I want you to have the same jump scare. Trust me, it’s just that good."

“Montague’s novel is filled with beautiful prose that’s hard to forget, and poses intriguing questions about how someone is remembered. . . It’s an ambitious one that leaves readers much to think about and introduces Montague as an inventive new voice.”

"Bold and bewitching. . . a brain-teasing triumph that will reward multiple readings."

"Montague's debut is a meditative exploration of the disconnection and isolation of modern life as well as a compelling literary mystery."

"A horror story of the most cunning sort."