Wendy Dalrymple Book order

In the summer of 1920, a young woman is called to work as a governess at The Hibiscus, a grand and sweeping estate on Tybee Island off the coast of Savannah, GA. She is reeling from a recent tragedy, looking for employment and a way to escape the dark reality of her life. She believes that a fresh start on the sunny southern Atlantic beaches will help to lift her spirits; instead, she only finds more doom and gloom. Dashiel "Dash" McCray, the son of a wealthy whisky tycoon, is still wallowing in the aftermath of his own tragedy after losing his beloved wife. His daughter, Penelope, is also mourning and becoming more sickly and withdrawn by the day. It is Dash's hope that a new governess imported from New York will help to lift his daughter's spirits, despite the constant reminder of their grief. However, as soon as the new governess arrives, it is quickly made apparent to her that things at The Hibiscus aren't as they seem.

Family secrets, grief and a dark, foreboding mystery… Estranged sisters Summer and Joy are forced to reunite after the untimely and gruesome deaths of their mother and grandparents.The two sisters are tasked with cleaning out their grandparents' home on Palmetto Lake in the heart of Central Florida during the hottest, most brutal time of the year. But something seems amiss in the bucolic lakefront community. Something Summer can't seem to place her finger on. Despite decades of unspoken animosity, the two sisters attempt to come together to support each other as they uncover the terrors of their unknown past. Questions about the true nature of their grandparents and the strange lakefront neighborhood bubble to the surface as Summer struggles to stay focused on the task at hand. However, with every layer the sisters strip away, with every new bit of evidence about their grandparents that they stumble upon, it becomes more and more clear to Summer that they aren't just going dealing with grief and loss… but danger. When it comes to the past, sometimes the truth is better left unknown. They Come From the Water is a Florida Gothic meditation on inherited family trauma, destructive secrets and dark dangers that lurk just beneath the surface. *Content warnings: Addiction, adultery, murder, suicide, self-harm, animal death and gore.