Fall is well upon us, and if you want a book that comes with a heavy dose of — nay, that’s dripping in — foreboding, there’s nothing to do but dive into Shannon Morgan’s excellent modern gothic novel, A Penance for Crows.

On the tiny island of Beanna Dubh off the coast of Ireland, there is murder most foul — bloody and inexplicable, perhaps even demonic. Peculiar lights are seen in bogs, frightening sigils (symbols) appear and disappear, and the titular crows quite literally stalk characters through the pages in a sweeping, cawing murder.

Beanna Dubh itself is as gothic a setting as any crumbling castle — its small size, limited technology, and distance from the mainland only feed the sense of isolation. When the deaths begin and mysterious symbols appear, the locals fall into hysteria.

Grizela Urquhart, an introverted painter in her 60s, resides there, sending pieces to gallery shows on the mainland. A Scottish expat, she is still treated as an outsider despite having lived on the island for decades. “There was a level of underlying spite…that took Grizela’s breath away…it ran in the bones of the families like a hereditary cancer.” But she adores the place nonetheless:

“She loved the treacherous heart of the island where heather hid peat bogs…But mostly she loved the crows, their darkness in legend and nature, their curiosity, their intelligence, and their proud independence in the face of adversity.”

She also adores her “Lassies,” a group of four unusual teen girls who come to her cottage to read her collection of books, chat, and briefly escape their otherwise constricted lives.

Grizela finds herself talking to the crows and listening to what she thinks are their messages, while simultaneously chastising herself for giving weight to “superstition.” But it’s superstition that permeates Beanna Dubh; pre-Christian beliefs lurk beneath the surface, the ancient rituals masked by Roman Catholic celebrations. Father Murphy, the priest who sees himself as the island’s final arbiter in matters of religion and law, wishes to dispense with all such trappings of paganism.

While out walking one day, Grizela finds at the bottom of a cliff the body of a young priest recently sent to the island. Her immediate assumption is suicide, yet she notices the clergyman has a strange, complex, and somehow familiar sigil drawn on his chest. She rushes to call for help, and by the time she returns, the corpse is still there, but the symbol is gone.

It is the first death of several, each growing in violence and each accompanied by a different sigil invoking another demon. Grizela obsessively paints the sigils in her studio, aware of the danger she faces if she’s discovered but determined to understand what they — and the deaths surrounding them — mean.

The atmosphere grows increasingly claustrophobic as Grizela and the Lassies try to solve the mystery of the killings while the Church does the same, the latter assigning blame and inflicting punishment with little or no evidence — a true modern witch hunt:

“There was no need for proof when the suspicion of a priest was proof enough.”

There is no safe place anywhere on wee Beanna Dubh as paranoia, rumors of dark magic, and attempts at reason come to a head, sparking inevitable showdowns. The story’s conclusion leaves many questions unanswered, but I still recommend A Penance for Crows for your spooky-season reading needs. Its mix of ancient myths, folk horror, and stellar characters will keep you transfixed until the very end.

Patricia S. Gormley lives in Northern Virginia with her librarian husband and three small, mysterious beings who profess to be cats but who behave like permanently disgruntled toddlers with no verbal skills.