Tillinghast

by Clare Cavenagh

A dark and utterly original literary horror debut, following a priest whose bloodthirsty life has extended far longer than any mere human's—and is upended when a stranger comes to town

Stutley Tillinghast lives a solitary life, ostensibly as the minister of a remote rural parish in Rhode Island. For many decades now, what little human contact he’s allowed himself has been brief, frenzied and bloody, and has always ended in a shallow grave in his cellar. There’s a name for what he is, but he prefers not to use it is simple enough that he has his needs, and that when they become unbearable, he fulfils them. In his long and lonely life, he has met only one other like him—the woman he still yearns for, the one who made him what he is.

Then a girl arrives, searching for him. She has his last name, and bears an uncanny resemblance to that woman, awakening memories Tillinghast had long suppressed; the connection he feels for her is immediate and overwhelming. She’s also sick, very sick, with symptoms Tillinghast recognizes all too well...and only he knows how to cure her.

Inspired by the real events of the New England vampire panic of the nineteenth century, Tillinghast is a novel to sink your teeth at once a gripping, atmospheric horror that turns the classic monster narrative on its head; a literary work of exceptional prose about giving into--or resisting--our impulses; and a remarkably moving father-daughter story that will leave you unexpectedly hopeful—and rooting, despite your every instinct, for the killers.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Gothic, Historical

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 23, 2026

About the author

Clare Cavenagh spent her childhood in Erica, Australia, and her adolescence in Fribourg, Switzerland. She read English and then renaissance literature at the University of Cambridge, and now lives in London where she works as a copywriter. Her short fiction and criticism have been published in Editions L'Hèbe, Cambridge Quarterly and Eucalyptus Lit. Her first novel, TILLINGHAST, will be published in June 2026. She is currently working on her second novel.

Reviews

[Val~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the description I read, I expected something different. This wasn’t my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean that this is a bad book.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for this free eARC of Tillinghast by Clare Cavenagh, to be published on June 4th, 2026.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | The Borough Press for providing me with the ARC.
Pub Date 4 Jun 2026
I fell in love with the cover, it’s simply one of the most beautiful covers ever. But I’m sad to say that the book itself was a bit of a letdown. I loved the different approach to the vampire subgenre of horror, how Tillinghast is not named the thing that he is. It adds to the mystery, although you clearly know what is happening. But the main issue for me was the pacing of the story, it was painfully slow. This is more of a historical novel that takes part in our modern times. I was highly intrigued by the confession that Tullinghast was writing and if the book was presented solely that way, I would have liked it better, no doubt. At times the narrative really dragged, there were sentences describing every little action the character took to do simple tasks and the constant questions the characters were asking themselves started to bother me by the end. I just don’t like this type of writing. And the biggest negative for me was a time discrepancy that was not explained and it was one of the main mysteries of the plot. I won’t get into this, because it is a spoiler, but it was unsatisfying not knowing how exactly this “relationship” was possible. I am still interested in Clare Cavenagh’s future works. Read this novel if you love slower paced historical fiction with dark and disturbing elements.

[Liberty Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit light on horror in my opinion, but I still found Tillinghast to be entertaining. In tone and premise this reminded me a lot of The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland, but I think the page count here was more appropriate for the pacing. The main character leads a very solitary life as a sort of self-inflicted punishment for what he is, so the beginning is a little light on action other than his murder routine. While I don't think it's for everyone, I liked that a lot of things were left unanswered as to how the vampirism here works. It makes sense that we don't get to understand something the characters themselves have no answers for, so I'll allow the ambiguity to an extent.

I think for me what would have fleshed this out more is greater depth on his early life pre-vampirism, as this is limited to short excerpts of his written life story. The parts that focus on the New England vampire panic were really interesting, and I wish we got more of this so we could expand his character a bit. I warmed up to him more once Sarah comes into the picture; their relationship was oddly heartwarming to watch develop. If this were any longer I think I'd expect more questions answered, but overall I enjoyed the character development and the particulars of the vampirisim so I think I'd give this 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC.

[Gergely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tillinghast follows Stutley Tillinghast, the minister of a remote Rhode Island parish whose carefully hidden, bloodthirsty existence is disrupted when a sick young woman bearing his name arrives in town. The isolated setting and eerie atmosphere are richly drawn and were my favorite part of this novel. The blurb promises a dark, original take on literary horror which I keep gravitating towards lately so I was super excited to pick this one up. The pacing felt too slow for me at times, causing the tension to wane but still, it was an enjoyable reading experience.

4⭐️

Thanks to HarperCollins UK & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Duncan Swann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geez look I dunno. It's a cool take on vampire mythology, weaving in real life New England panic (were they just always panicking up there?), but it's a bit boring.

Writing was fine, but it was just a padded out book where nothing of real consequence happened. There were a few moments of tension (I liked the bit where Tilinghast went to the hospital the second time...) but overall it's just like...yeah, and? We need to keep authors accountable to executing a good story alongside their cool idea.

[Violetdazey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for providing me with the ARC.


Honestly, I really liked the first half of this book, I was so so immersed that I read 70% of the book in one sitting because I was excited that his past will be revealed and everything will be told to us and there will be more action as it's a horror or creepy vibes, but tbh, the lack of explanation did make it mysterious, us not knowing who he really is, what all 3 of them are, all in all a historical slow horror fiction that you might like if you are into mysterious vibes 👏🏼.

[Brooke Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very unique read. I thought the writing was brilliant. Not all that much happens to be honest but that is part of the charm, it reads as a character analysis of an old ass hella emo vampire priest. Literally what more do you want. I think it would be higher if more happened, as this just felt like a set up for something, I was waiting for more, but I will certainly read more from this author.

[Vikki Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely well written, just a little boring for me