Cirrus@Austlit

'Gloria inherits a set of cigarette cards, 24 beautifully illustrated, historically accurate cards depicting death scenes. Once she meets her future husband, they become obsessed with cards, determined to visit each of the locations, driven by a force they don't understand. They profit from this obsession, flipping haunted houses from dumps to delights, selling them for a good return. Their family grows and their five children join the exploration, learning to live with the ghosts, the constant moves, the underlying smell of death that follows them. The family vandalize each place they live in, knowing that you need to destroy in order to rebuild.

'It's only once the ghost of a young boy is roused that the true history of the cards is revealed and the true sacrifice to obsession begins.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The giant metal man has stood for hundreds of years, head tilted back, mouth open. All the dead of the town are disposed of this way, carried up the long, staircase that winds around him and tipped in. At his toe emerges the Bitters, the lifeblood of the town, keeping them healthy and prosperous as the sick and needy come to buy and drink.

'McNubbin is a happy man with all he wants in life. He’s carried the bodies up since he was 14, a worthwhile, respected job. But when he notices broken girl after broken girl, he can’t stay quiet, and speaking up will change his perfect life.' (Publication summary)