Chikodili Emelumadu: Dazzling [2024] paperback

‘I am truly dazzled’ TRACY CHEVALIER

‘A rich tapestry of African mythology and magic’ CHERIE JONES

‘Bursting with magic, bright and visceral’ JENNIFER SAINT

‘A feast of shimmering, beautiful prose’ CHIKA UNIGWE

Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.

Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure’s daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back – but she has to complete a monstrous task for him first.

Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can’t be scratched. An itch that tells of her great and terrible destiny, passed down through generations, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it’s one she couldn’t want less.

But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their fathers’ decisions, Ozoemena’s fellow students at her new boarding school start to vanish. Treasure and Ozoemena will face frightening choices as they are drawn into battle with sinister forces – and it’s a fight they can’t both survive.

‘Deftly conjured’ GUARDIAN

‘Erudite, original and beautifully written’ CHRISTIE WATSON

‘Unexpected, explosive and deeply satisfying’ MELISSA FU

‘A masterful storm’ DOREEN CUNNINGHAM

‘Uncanny and affecting in equal measure’ T. L. HUCHU

‘One hell of a book’ MEG CLOTHIER