The Finalist

Seven ballerinas. One fallen primadonna. The audition of a lifetime. And a mysterious house that swallows the weakest one by one …

There is no performance art as punishing as ballet—and no top-tier ballerina is as punished as Eden. While others practice their steps over and over, Eden waits, knowing her body can perform only so many times before it breaks. But Eden will need to be perfect—or even better—at Deveraux Manor, secluded amid snowy mountains, where she and six other hopefuls are sequestered in a month-long audition for the mysterious, alluring, tragic former ballerina Leanora Karagianni.

Only one finalist will join Leanora’s company and dance the lead. Eden wants it more than anything, but not more than anyone. Her competitors will take every advantage they can. And the cursed house twisting around them will push each ballerina to the bloody edge—and over it. As Eden fights her attraction to the seductive Leonora and the stakes turn lethal, she’ll discover that only the dancer who pays the house’s terrible price can become the finalist.

• “Rich in atmosphere, dripping with menace, and offering an insider’s view of ruthless competition between would-be ballerina stars, The Finalist is a haunting story about how far some will go to win and what it costs them—whether they win fairly or not. It got under my skin and had it crawling.”
  Craig DiLouie, author of EPISODE THIRTEEN