The cover for British-Nigerian novelist Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s second book Where Sleeping Girls Lie is out and it is absolutely stunning! The cover art, which was, designed by Aykut Aydogdu, channels the book’s gothic and mysterious elements of the story, certainly making us wish that the release date were sooner.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is scheduled for publication on March 19, 2024 by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s.

The cover is spooky to say the least, featuring a beautiful young black girl with one eye covered by a sparrow, her hair drips down to form the letters of the book title, and a Hogwarts-like boarding school looms in the bottom of the cover with its edges shaded black to portend darkness within.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie (WSGL) is a YA contemporary mystery and continues some of the world-building elements from Àbíké-Íyímídé’s first and bestselling debut Ace of Spades (2021). In WSGL, Sade Hussein is new to boarding school with misfortunes of her own, but in the midst of finding her tribe and catching up with classes, her roommate disappears and she discovers dark secrets in the prestigious academy.

Read the full synopsis below:

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school, after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has clung to her seemingly since birth, but even she doesn’t expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them—especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to—and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don’t care enough about what happened to Elizabeth, it’s up to she and Elizabeth’s best friend, Baz, to investigate.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade and Baz dig into Elizabeth’s disappearance, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.

Preorder Where Sleeping Girls Lie here!