THE GENTLING BOX
by
Lisa Mannetti

The philosophies of the Age of Enlightenment create sweeping changes throughout 19th Century Europe, but to Hungary’s despised nomads, the gypsies, the world is still a dark and very dangerous landscape. Adversaries both mortal and supernatural lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike without mercy.

Imre, a half-gypsy horse trader, understands the danger to his small family all too well. Cursed with a hideously-disfiguring and fatal disease by the vengeful sorceress Anyeta, he watches those around him suffer and fall. Mimi, his wife, who is tricked into cutting off her own arm to create a powerful talisman. His friend Constantin, struck mute by Anyeta’s wrath. And Lenore, his and Mimi’s young daughter, who has been placed in the greatest jeopardy of all.

With his health deteriorating and death imminent, his wife possessed by the witch’s ghost and Lenore being groomed for a fate far worse than death, Imre turns to desperate measures—and a hellish memory from his childhood—to still the sorceress and end her reign of bloodshed. A presence even more powerful and terrifying to him than Anyeta: the gentling box.

THE GENTLING BOX is the terrifying debut novel of horror writer, Lisa Mannetti.

Paperback: 316 pages
Price: $16.99
ISBN 10: 0-9787318-9-1

Available at:

Barnes & Noble

“A keenly conceived and richly executed cornucopia of the blackest magic. Mannetti’s prowess as a writer hauls the reader into a shimmering, phantasmagoric demesne of relentless suspense and high-creep-factor chills, and doesn’t let go until the final page. This story is a dark work of art.”
–Edward Lee, author of CITY INFERNAL and BRIDES OF THE IMPALER

"When was the last time you lost yourself in a book? Lisa Mannetti dares you to enter a realm unlike anything you’ve dreamed of, a world of gallant gypsies and ancient evil, of passionate obsessions … and abject terror. Take that dare. Immerse yourself. The rewards are plentiful. But be warned. Nothing could prepare you for the horror of The Gentling Box."
–Robert Dunbar, author of THE PINES and THE SHORE

"Mannetti's prose has teeth; sharp teeth that grab on and refuse to let go."
–J.A. Konrath, author of FUZZY NAVEL and DIRTY MARTINI

—Alexandra Sokoloff, author of THE PRICE and THE HARROWING

"Lisa Mannetti's impressive debut novel The Gentling Box transports you to another time and place with the same kind of dark magic that pervades the 19th-century world she's recreated, reminding us that it was not so long ago that the terror of sorcery and spectres was very real—very real, and not so far-fetched."
–Hank Schwaeble, Bram Stoker Award winner and author of DAMNABLE (Jove 2009)

"Mannetti's debut THE GENTLING BOX is astonishingly well written, richly drawn and simply remarkable. It shares that very rare thing that all the best novels do: the creation of a world, fully formed, familiar and yet magically unique, a world that makes us ache to remain in it for just a few moments longer after the last word is read."
–Nate Kenyon, Stoker Finalist, author of BLOODSTONE and THE REACH

"Mannetti's THE GENTLING BOX weaves a magical tapestry that transcends time. This impressive tour de force chills the reader and lingers long after the final chapter."
–Amy Grech, author of APPLE OF MY EYE

"The Gentling Box is a brilliantly decadent opium den of "The Gentling Box is a brilliantly decadent opium den of mind-bending hallucinations fueled by old-world magic, each page more disturbing and haunting than the previous one. Absolutely stunning! Moving with the frantic speed of a terrified wild horse, this novel will take you on a ride you will not soon forget. If this is Lisa Mannetti's debut, I cannot wait to see what she will produce for us in the future..." To read the complete review by Gabrielle S. Faust, please click here and go FearZonec.com.

FEARZONE'S Favorites 2008—Editor's Picks

Greg Lamberson wrote:

"THE GENTLING BOX by Lisa Mannetti— An impressive debut, beautifully written, about old world gypsy curses. THere's a pretty intricate structure at work here, and a palpable sense of dread."

Top Ten Novels 2008

“Brilliantly researched and structured, THE GENTLING BOX accurately recreates a world long lost where Gypsies roamed a shadowy landscape filled with superstition and danger. Already recommended for a Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, Ms. Mannetti has conjured a heart-stopping tale of magick most black, a terrifying, heartfelt, disarming story that is beautifully wrought and historically correct. I came away from this novel breathless and hungry for more. This is dazzling, shuddersome historical horror of the first order.”
—J.L. Comeau, Count Gore's Creature Feature Weekly web program
(www.countgore.com)