I’ve been trying to identify a book I read sometime between 2010 and 2015, but despite remembering some very specific plot details, I’ve had absolutely no luck!
I borrowed it from my older sister, so it could have been published well before I read it.
What I remember most clearly (major spoilers):
The main character is a young woman who arrives somewhere by a small boat, possibly a dinghy or kayak. She meets a man and develops a sexual relationship with him.
During one of their sexual encounters, he pays very close attention to her naked body, studying every detail, including a tiny ladybug/ladybird tattoo (possibly on her ankle).
Later, it’s revealed that he wasn’t the good guy she thought he was. I believe he’d deliberately pursued the sexual relationship for sinister reasons connected to a supernatural ritual.
The ritual involved burying an accurate likeness of someone, either a photograph or a hand-drawn picture, to transfer some kind of curse, impending death or accelerated ageing.
I remember the man’s careful attention to her body being significant because he needed to know exactly what she looked like, including identifying marks that wouldn’t normally be visible.
I think both photographs and a drawing were involved at different points in the story, but I can’t remember who used which. It’s possible he used photographs of her and she later had to draw someone else from memory, or vice versa.
I believe she eventually discovers what he’s done and finds a way to save herself.
Other details I’m less certain about:
I think she was a young adult, possibly in her early twenties, with red/auburn hair and freckles.
She may have been backpacking alone in a foreign country.
The setting felt warm, possibly tropical, and somewhat isolated.
I remember a river being important. She may have travelled downstream to reach the man’s house, and escaping was difficult because of the strong current and needing to row upstream.
I think the man was already living there, and much of the story involved just the two of them in his house.
I believe the man may have inherited the curse from someone else, possibly an elderly woman.
I have a vague recollection that the curse was successfully transferred to the protagonist, and she only realised what had happened when she began experiencing its effects.
I think she ultimately saved herself by deliberately transferring the curse to a female roommate back home.
Genre/tone:
It felt mostly like a contemporary mystery or suspense novel with a supernatural twist, rather than fantasy or horror. The world was otherwise normal, with no fantasy creatures or elaborate magic systems. I don’t remember it being particularly frightening or disturbing.
I suspect I’m struggling to find it because the ritual and the man’s true intentions are major spoilers, so they wouldn’t appear in most book descriptions or reviews.
I’ve already ruled out The Haunting of Kulah by Janet MacLeod Trotter, which has a few superficial similarities but is definitely not the book.
The detail I’m most confident about is the man deliberately studying the woman’s naked body, including the small ladybug tattoo, and a supernatural ritual involving burying a photograph or an extremely accurate drawing of someone.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? I’d be incredibly grateful for any suggestions!