The Job of the Wasp: A Novel

The sign out front describes the building as a school for orphaned boys. But when our young narrator arrives there, the Headmaster tells him, “This is not a school.” He is given an ill-fitting uniform; he is insulted, then ignored, then attacked by other children. He hears voices whispering outside his window; he finds a note in his pocket that reads If you have something to confess, any time is a good time to do so. Soon enough, bodies start turning up: buried in the garden, hidden in closets, sunk to the bottom of the lake. What on earth is going on? Where exactly are we?

The Job of the Wasp blends horror, Gothic ghost tales, and murder mysteries to tell a funny and twisted coming-of-age story—and to explore the slipperiness of identity, social ties, and reality.