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Starling House 《椋鳥謎莊》(暫譯)
歐帕兒在別人眼中從來就不是一流人生裡的主角─孤兒、高中輟學，個性憤世嫉俗，在超市當收銀員打工維生。
但對她來說，要貼標籤貼一百張都無所謂，因為歐帕兒鐵了心要讓弟弟賈斯柏擁有完全不同的人生，為了讓兩人離開肯塔基州鄉下城市伊甸，她拼命打工，想盡辦法湊出學費和生活費。
伊甸和他聽來反諷的名字相去甚遠，是座荒涼、破舊又毫無希望的城鎮，地方上最出名的東西就只有兩個：壞運氣和椋鳥山莊，百年前由一位19世紀的作家打造，只寫過一部作品The Underland，然後就此失蹤，留下這棟過於殘破又巨大的莊園，以及詭異的後代繼承者，亞瑟。從椋鳥山莊謠傳出各種千奇百怪的流言，在當地早已是人盡皆知的「都市傳說」，再加上個性古怪、不善與人交際的亞瑟離群索居，這棟鬼影幢幢的大宅自然成為各種負面八卦傳聞的中心。
歐帕兒自小就非常喜歡The Underland這本書，當她知道椋鳥山莊正在對外招聘清潔人員時，她毫不在乎那些流言蜚語，下定決心無論如何都要得到這個工作，不僅可以踏進她極感興趣的大宅一探究竟，就實際面說，這裡的薪水也可以讓她和弟弟過上一段衣食無虞的生活。
當歐帕兒走進山莊的大門，她感覺一切是多麼詭異卻奇妙，鬧鬼傳言和妖怪傳說沒有令她卻步，反而意外找到她從未體會過的「歸屬感」。待在山莊的時間越長，歐帕兒不禁好奇，椋鳥山莊百年以來隱藏的秘密究竟是什麼？籠罩並困擾著亞瑟的魔障又是從何而來？謎團仍待解開，而有意入侵者正於暗中窺伺，準備伸出爪牙...
這是第一次，歐帕兒終於找到繼續留在家鄉的理由，這一次，她還必須為了「家」勇敢奮戰。
“This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting―plus, characters willing to risk everything.” ―Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’23 Pick)
Starling House is a gorgeous, modern gothic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January.
I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen….
Opal is a lot of things―orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier―but above all, she's determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago.
All she left behind were dark rumors―and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway.
I should be scared, but in the dream I don’t hesitate.
Opal has been obsessed with The Underland since she was a child. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House―and make some extra cash for her brother's escape fund―she can't resist.
But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she might finally have found a reason to stick around.
In my dream, I’m home.
And now she’ll have to fight.
