The Cellar: A Novel

Chilling psychological suspense with “exceptional punch” from the Edgar Award–winning author of The Dark Room (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).   It seems like a respectable British home, occupied by the Songolis, an upstanding family of African immigrants. But hidden within the cellar is Muna—a teenage girl who cooks for them, cleans for them, endures brutal abuse from them . . . and is powerless to escape.   Then one day, the Songolis’ ten-year-old son fails to come home from school, and Scotland Yard arrives at the house to investigate. While they look into the boy’s disappearance, Muna must play the role of beloved daughter. She suddenly has a real bedroom, with sunlight, and real clothing to wear. But she must continue to keep quiet—and hide the fact that she has learned how to speak English. Even as the police are watching, her secret life of enslavement goes on.   But Muna is hatching a plan—and her acts of rebellion and revenge will be more terrifying than this family could have imagined—in this dark, twisting tale that represents “contemporary crime writing at its absolute peak” (Val McDermid).

From School Library Journal

Stolen from her home in Africa six years earlier, 14-year-old Muna lives as a slave to Ebuka, Yetunde, and their two boys. When she is not cleaning or tending to the family, she is hidden in the cellar, her one refuge. Daily beatings and berating by Yetunde leave her silent and wary. And even the cellar provides no real safety, for she is regularly raped by Ebuka. But when the younger boy goes missing, things change for Muna. Brought up from the cellar and into her own room, given new clothes, and disguised as the family's mentally deficient daughter, Muna relishes her new position as the police question her and the family. Weeks go by, but the boy's disappearance remains unsolved. Throughout the questioning, it becomes apparent that not only is Muna not mentally deficient but she is intelligent, has learned English, and is determined to create a life for herself by using those who have cruelly taken advantage of her. Not knowing whom to trust and unaware of the wider world, Muna works step by patient step, exacting revenge upon this family. One by one, family members begin to realize that Muna has more power than they thought possible. By the end, readers will be pondering: Are killers born, or are they created? VERDICT Offer to mature teens who can handle the dark side of the human condition.—Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Sly pacing and a detached narrative voice give this horror story exceptional punch.”

The Guardian

“This compact, well-told and extraordinarily atmospheric story packs more punch than many much longer books.”

Daily Mail (UK)

“Reads like a particularly grim Grimm’s Fairy Tale, with an all-too-credible contemporary setting.... Gratifyingly menacing.”

Independent (UK)

“A compulsive (and gruesome) read.”

Val McDermid

“Contemporary crime writing at its absolute peak.”

From the Back Cover

A Deadly Pleasures Best Novel of the Year from internationally bestselling author Minette Walters that tells the harrowing story of an African immigrant family and the dark secret they keep hidden in the depths of their seemingly respectable British home. On the day Mr. and Mrs. Songoli’s ten-year-old son fails to come home from school, fourteen-year-old Muna’s fortunes change for the better. Until then, her bedroom has been a dank, windowless cellar, her activities confined to cooking and cleaning. Over the years, she has grown used to being abused by the Songoli family—physically, emotionally, and even sexually. She has grown used to being their slave. With the son’s disappearance, Scotland Yard swarms the Songoli home, led by a savvy female inspector who isn’t afraid to ask hard questions. To keep up appearances, Muna is given a real bedroom and real clothing, and she is treated, at least nominally, as a daughter. But when the police leave the premises, she must once again call her captors “Princess” and “Master,” and her world remains confined. She is not allowed to go outside, doesn’t know how to read or write, and cannot speak English. At least that’s what the Songolis believe. Before long, it becomes clear that young Muna is far cleverer—and her plans far more terrifying—than the Songolis, or anyone else, could ever imagine.  For fans of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James, The Cellar reveals a terrifying world far from the public eye, and shows what happens when humanity is pushed to its very limit.

About the Author

Minette Walters is an internationally bestselling author with more than 25 million copies of her books sold worldwide. She is the author of twelve novels, winning the CWA John Creasey Award for The Ice House, the Edgar Allan Poe Award for The Sculptress and two CWA Gold Daggers for The Scold’s Bridle and Fox Evil. She lives in Dorset with her husband. After a break of 10 years, she burst on to the literary scene with her first stunning historical novel, The Last Hours.

Reviews

News