{"product_id":"9780979233234","title":"The Joss","description":"Mary Blyth is fired from her job for tardiness after being robbed and nearly murdered. But her luck seems to change for the better when a solicitor informs her that her distant uncle Benjamin Batters has died, naming her his sole heiress! He bequeaths to her a dilapidated old house, where impenetrable iron doors may guard terrible secrets.\u003cp\u003eBut the rats that infest the house, and the spirits that seem to haunt it, are not her only concerns. A trio of grotesque and ruthless thugs will stop at nothing to gain entrance to the house and the secrets it conceals. As the mystery deepens, a more frightening question arises: Is Benjamin Batters playing a murderous game from beyond the grave, or is he still alive? The novel's relentless action builds in a crescendo until the horrifying truth of Batters's fate is finally revealed!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard Marsh's \u003ci\u003eThe Joss\u003c\/i\u003e (1901) can be read as a companion volume to his most famous novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Beetle\u003c\/i\u003e (1897), which in its time outsold even Bram Stoker's \u003ci\u003eDracula\u003c\/i\u003e (1897). Like \u003ci\u003eThe Beetle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Joss\u003c\/i\u003e features a thrilling tale told from multiple points of view and a hideous, subhuman monster from the East. The Valancourt Books edition reprints the rare 1901 first edition, which survives in only a handful of copies worldwide, complete with a facsimile of its cover.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Valancourt Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47023327740144,"sku":"9780979233234","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780979233234_p0.jpg?v=1763883370","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780979233234","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}