TITLE: Reliquary
AUTHOR: Hannah Whitten
PUBLISHER: Orbit Books
PUBLISHING DATE: August 11, 2026
PAGES: 300
SOURCE: Library
FROM GOODREADS: Sometimes, you just want to belong.
When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, seemingly destroying her chances at the belonging she’s sought, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Even if sometimes, that connection seemed more like something he felt obligated to than something he wanted.
Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?
When Elias’s family reaches out—his incredibly wealthy family, from whom he was estranged—and invites Claire to a wake at their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to have connection again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.
Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their home built partially into the sea stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.
Claire can’t bring herself to be lonely again. And as the strange circumstances of Elias’s familial connection with the sea becomes more and more apparent, her window for escape is rapidly closing.
Does she even want to?
When the book opens, Claire has just learned that her fiancé Elias has died from a sudden aneurysm and she has been called to the hospital because the doctors have found something odd. It just so happens they have never seen the pattern they found in Elias' brain and even more, don't know how he managed to live as long as he did. Claire begins to grieve and as she does, the reader is given a glimpse into the two's relationship and both of their familial issues. Claire's family was killed in a boating accident when she was young, and Elias' family owns a marinography company specializing in sea research and submarine building and for the past few years, he has had nothing to do with them.
Even though they have never met, Elias' family invites them to their coastal estate to bury Elias and celebrate his life. Feeling more alone than ever, Claire decides to go. However, before long, she grows suspect of the mansion, built into a rock formation and primarily under water, the submarine prototype where all family members spend their wedding night (did I mention it was clear), and the staff, who all seem to be suffering from some kind of deformity. Add in the weird family members and their odd spouses, and things start adding up for Claire. What is going on with Elias family and just how far is Claire expected to go to belong? And why do visions of Elias, in various states of decay and dripping salt water and seaweed, keep appearing to her and apologizing for things she has no knowledge of?
I can't gush enough about this book. The plot was very creative and unlike any I recall ever reading. Whitten does a fantastic job of creating a sense of dread from the first chapter which only intensifies as the story progresses. Thinking back, I'm not sure I ever really liked Claire, but I was completely invested in her life and what she was experiencing. I also loved the description of the creepy manor and its inhabitants and honestly, this book could have been even longer, and I think I would have only loved it even more.
If you love Gothic tales, cosmic horror and feeling like the ocean is crushing in on you, then you should definitely pick up this book. I believe this is the author's first adult horror book and I'm really hoping she has many more up her sleeve.
MY RATING: 5 PAWS
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