The New Girl, the third and last book in the Downside trio, will be released by Corvus on 1 October 2013.

Haunted by his past indiscretions and estranged from his family, Ryan Devlin is forced to work as a handyman at Crossley College, an exclusive private school in Johannesburg. But he’s losing the battle to suppress his growing fascination with a new pupil, a girl who seems to have a strange effect on the schoolchildren around her.

Tara Marais fills her days by volunteering at Crossley College’s library. Intrigued by Jane’s unusual behaviour and appearance, she suspects the new girl might be a neglected child. Desperate but unable to have her own child, Tara makes Reborn dolls and she’s delighted when she receives a lucrative commission from the mysterious ‘Varder Batiss’. Although horrified when she sees the photograph of the baby she’s been asked to create, she agrees to Batiss’s strangely worded terms, unaware of the consequences if she fails to deliver the baby in time…

Both Tara and Ryan are being drawn into Batiss’s schemes – with shockingly horrific consquences.

The Ward, the next dose of S.L. Grey, was released in paperback and ebook by Corvus on 1 October 2012.

Buy The Ward paperback (UK): Amazon.co.uk | Waterstones.com | Bookdepository.co.uk
Buy The Ward paperback (SA): with BOOK finder
Buy The Ward Kindle edition (International): at Amazon.com
Buy The Ward Kindle edition (UK): at Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Ward e-book at Kobo

The Ward is currently not published in the US or Canada, but we will keep you updated. For now, North American readers can import a copy from The Book Depository (which offers free worldwide shipping) or Amazon.co.uk or check AbeBooks.Com for a list of independent suppliers with stock.

S.L. Grey’s first book, The Mall, was published in the UK and Commonwealth by Corvus in June 2011. It is now out in paperback.

Buy The Mall paperback (UK): Amazon.co.uk | Waterstones.com | Bookdepository.co.uk
Buy The Mall paperback (SA): with BOOK finder
Buy The Mall Kindle edition (International): at Amazon.com.
Buy The Mall Kindle edition (UK): at Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Mall e-book at Kobo

The Mall‘s print edition is currently not published in the US or Canada, but we will keep you updated. For now, North American readers can import a copy from The Book Depository (which offers free worldwide shipping) or Amazon.co.uk or check AbeBooks.Com for a list of independent suppliers with stock.

The Mall is published in Dutch by De Arbeiderspers as De Plaza, in Turkish by Ithaki Yayinlari as AVM, in Italian by Newton Compton as Il manichino and in German by Festa Verlag as Labyrinth der Puppen (December 2013). (Click on the covers to view or buy.)

Read more about The Mall here.
Visit S.L. Grey’s blog section for latest news.

Reaction to The Ward

One of the (UK) Independent on Sunday’s 2012 Books of the Year

Reviews of The Ward on Goodreads.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews & Interviews:
January 2013 // “Il romanzo è ottimo. Migliore del già fantastico predecessore.” // Alessandro Girola, Plutonia Experiment
December 2012 // “Equals – if not trumps – the disturbing, creepy horror of their first” // David Barnett, (UK) Independent on Sunday 2012 Books of the Year
November 2012 // “A fun, intelligent read with a good blend of character, setting, humour, satire, and social commentary” // Mack Lundy, Africa Screams
November 2012 // “Startlingly well written” // Diane Awerbuck, The Times / BooksLive
November 2012 // “An ingeniously perverse sequel” // Interview with Alan Kelly at Rue Morgue
October 2012 // “S. L. Grey’s depiction of postmodern horror is practically peerless.” // Niall Alexander, Tor.com
October 2012 // “A thoroughly unnerving read that straddles the line between visceral horror and Kafka-esque paranoia beautifully” // Will Salmon, SFX
October 2012 // The authors take “the natural fear [of hospitals] and do nasty things with it … A dark and scary read.” // Keith Brooke, the Guardian
October 2012 // “A juicy human horror … you’ll find yourself hungry for more” // S.A. Partridge, Bookslive
October 2012 // “The Ward isn’t your typical horror novel” 9/10 // Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
September 2012 // “A stunningly visceral horror novel … a terrific piece of nightmarish engineering” // Pornokitsch
September 2012 // A “stunning second novel” // Waterstones

Reaction to The Mall

“One of the cleverest, creepiest and most memorable horror novels for ages … a masterful debut.” David Barnett, The Independent (UK)
“Deliciously evil” Alison Flood, The Guardian (UK)
“Dark, disturbing, and wonderfully subversive.” Lauren Beukes

Reviews of The Mall on Goodreads.com | Librarything.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:
April 2013 // “Questo romanzo mi è piaciuto molto.” // Sognando Leggendo
February 2013 // “Terrifyingly surreal and utterly gross, this book grabs you and won’t let go until the bitter end.” // The Book Garden
January 2013 // “Een van de meest originele boeken die ik de laatste tijd heb gelezen” // Hati Bell
January 2013 // “I loved it.” // Just Reading for Fun
January 2013 // “A strong debut” // Shaun C. Green for Vector
January 2013 // “Macabro, claustrofobico al limite massimo, delirante, visionario” // I Libri di Lo
December 2012 // “AVM bence nefis bir fantastik macera.” // Kitap Muhabbeti
December 2012 // “Uno dei migliori horror letti quest’anno.” // Alessandro Girola, Plutonia Experiment
October 2012 // “Una lettura intellettualmente stimolante e, nello stesso tempo, oltremodo divertente” // Laume’s Journey
October 2012 // “Un romanzo horror d’esordio ricco di tensione con atmosfere così inquietanti” // Liberi di Scrivere blog
September 2012 // “It’s a great story” 4.5/5 // Leeswammes’ Blog
September 2012 // “This book’s greatest strength is its interplay of ideas.” // The Momus Report
August 2012 // “I would recommend this heartily.” 4.5/5 // Paper Plane Reviews
April 2012 // “A rare 9/10 for awesomeness.” // FesterEsther, LifeAfterUndeath.Com
February 2012 // “De Plaza is een verfrissende psychologische urbanhorror die we je zeker aanraden” // Laura Walhout, De Nachtvlinders.nl
January 2012 // The Mall is one of Janet van Eeden’s best reads of 2011 on LitNet
October 2011 // The Mall is one of Alison Flood’s three picks for All Hallows’ Read in The Guardian
September 2011 // “The Mall by S.L. Grey is horror on steroids with a PhD in psychology.” // Harry Markov, World SF blog
September 2011 // “The Mall is funny, clever, imaginative and most importantly stays with you long after the last page.” // Caro Gold, These are my Days
August 2011 // “The Mall is a gritty, raw and provocative story that turns society inside out” // LarissaBookGirl
August 2011 // The Mall features in “Scenes in Books You May Prefer Not to Read on the Train” at Crime City After Dark
August 2011 // “The Mall is brilliant … [it] transcends being an ordinary dystopian tale: it isn’t about the horror of the setting, it is about its temptation” // Pornokitsch
July 2011 // “as stunning and original on the inside as it is on the out” // Darren J. Guest, Dark Central Station
July 2011 // “a fast-paced read, claustrophobic, disturbing and satirical” // Cat Hellisen, Inarticulations
July 2011 // “marks an impressive step forward for South African genre fiction” // The Word Fiend
July 2011 // “a gruesome kind of fun to read … sticks in the brain” // Tori Truslow, Strange Horizons
June 2011 // “Then you realise that the twisted mirror on real life was nothing more than plain glass all along. That’s the beauty of this work.” // Sally Fink, PopMatters
June 2011 // “I was told that this book was brilliant and I wasn’t disappointed.” // Bookbanter
June 2011 // “The Mall is the best horror novel I’ve read in 2011. Thanks to pitch-perfect pacing, The Mall is a lunatic thrill ride.” // Niall Alexander, The Speculative Scotsman
June 2011 // “Books as good as The Mall don’t come along very often. … one of the most inventive and refreshing novels of recent years.” // Oracle Book Blog
June 2011 // “It’s an intelligent use of horror, lingering in the mind long after its short, sharp shocks have worn off.” // Eddie Robson, SFX
May 2011 // “In a word, The Mall is totallyfuckingawesome.” // Joe Vaz, Something Wicked
May 2011 // “Tense and unnerving reading that any horror fan will get a lot out of.” // Graeme Flory, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
May 2011 // “An awesome horror novel. It’s genuinely creepy at times and utterly horrific” // Lauren Smith, Violin in a Void
May 2011 // “Absolutely awesome – an original and genuinely scary horror thrill “ // The Tainted Archive
May 2011 // “One of the cleverest, creepiest and most memorable horror novels for ages … a masterful debut.” // David Barnett, The Independent (UK)
April 2011 // “This is a clever look at the modern obsession with consumerism, advertising, body image … Chilling, spooky and original.” // Bitesize Books
April 2011 // “I can see this book becoming a cult classic” // Geek Syndicate
March 2011 // “A fast paced novel full of unexpected twists and turns.” // Michelle Herbert, FantasyBookReview.co.uk
March 2011 // “A fast-paced, compelling … roller coaster ride into your worst nightmare” // Janet van Eeden, Litnet inter-review
February 2011 // “An incredible horror novel and definitely the start of something awesome in the publishing world” // Dave-Brendon de Burgh, DaveBrendon’s Fantasy & SciFi Weblog
February 2011 // “As excellent a piece of world-building as I have encountered in my reading life-time” // Mack Lundy, Africa Screams
February 2011 // “You have to read this book [but not] before bedtime” // Syllable in the City

Interviews and Features:
February 2012 // The Mall is an “exhilarating and deliciously twisted collaboration” // Interview with This is Horror
August 2011 // “Koningin van gril en gruwels” // Feature on Sarah Lotz in Rapport
July 2011 // “We’re both very visual writers, … And the book is very filmic. Producers.” // Interview with Dark Central Station
July 2011 // Feature Interview at // Something Wicked
June 2011 // “Grim tale unmasks glitzy mall culture” // Interview with Nerine Dorman, The Star Tonight
June 2011 // “One of my most interesting reads so far this year ” // Interview with Bitesize Books
June 2011 // “Shopping Shock: Authors invent new reasons to shop online” // Interview with Bruce Dennill, The Citizen CitiVibe
May 2011 // “Putting South African science fiction on the map” // David Barnett, The Guardian Books Blog
March 2011 // “New South African Writers are Giving the Middle Finger to the Old Literary Circles” // Sally Fink, PopMatters.com
March 2011 // “A fast-paced, compelling … roller coaster ride into your worst nightmare” // Janet van Eeden, Litnet inter-review
January 2011 // “‘Stand Back Stephen King, SL Grey Has Arrived’ – Advance Reviews of The Mall at Amazon UK” // BOOK Southern Africa report

The Mall book trailer

Email S.L. Grey at slgreyauthor [at] gmail [dot] com.
Follow S.L. Grey on Twitter: @slgreyauthor.
Like S.L. Grey on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/slgreyauthor

S.L. Grey is represented by Oliver Munson at A.M. Heath & Company.

S.L. Grey’s upside mascots are Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg.