What is the title of your latest release?
DEATH DO US
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
DEATH DO US follows Bea, who should be having an amazing time as she plans her upcoming wedding, until she starts to notice strange things happening to her body. Her skin begins flaking, her teeth loosening, her engagement ring far too tight. And she can’t stop thinking about a proposal from an ex-boyfriend years before. As her wedding approaches, Bea is forced to question her mind, her upcoming marriage, and what is really happening to her.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I have lived in London for a long time, and so setting the novel in my hometown felt natural. The city has so much history, and as my protagonist is an archaeologist, it seemed fitting to base the story in a place with a rich and vibrant past.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Maybe! I think I’d like to have a discussion with her about archaeology, but some of her takes might be a bit too morbid for me.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Academic, unconventional, troubled.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a lot about how the human body decomposes… my google search history is a little bit grim! So much of the story anchors on Bea’s perception of what is happening to her and the boundary of whether it is real or just in her head. To make it both believable and accurate, I spent a fair amount of time learning what happens to a cadaver and then trying to find symptoms for conditions that might mirror those effects.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I tend to write out an initial story – just getting words on the page – and then edit several times. The first edit is usually a structural one, ensuring plot holes are plugged and everything makes sense. Then the next edit I’ll adjust the tone and voice until it feels “right” for that character. I’ll then do a final edit where I read the book aloud – I find it highlights any areas where the prose is clunky and needs changing.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
There’s an amazing restaurant in Camden called The Cheese Bar, which serves unusual cheese pairings, as well as giant mozzarella sticks and toasties.
Describe your writing space/office!
I work full-time alongside my writing, so I’ll take my laptop most places and write wherever and whenever I can – this morning I was writing on a train! I do have my own office, which is filled with stacks of books and has a treadmill, so if I get stuck, I can take a break and walk it out.
Who is an author you admire?
Impossible to choose one! Recently I’ve loved the work of R.F. Kuang, and reading several of Margaret Atwood’s novels as a teenager made me want to become an author.
Is there a book that changed your life?
IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELLER by Italo Calvino was the first novel that showed me what you could do with second person narration. I’ve since written my PhD thesis on second person narration and use it heavily in my own work.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was International Women’s Day! I’d been training for the London Marathon and had just returned from a long run to find the email sitting in my inbox. One of those pinch-me moments I’ll never forget.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love books that make me question the world we live in, and so speculative fiction, particularly those with a literary bent, tend to be my favourites.
What’s your favorite movie?
Too difficult to choose just one! A few favourites include EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, the KILL BILL duology, and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. I also love old movies – particularly some of the Alfred Hitchcock films, and I’m a big fan of a silly, screwball comedy.
What is your favorite season?
Autumn – I love the turning of the leaves, and spooky season!
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I try to stretch out my birthday for at least a week of celebrations (sometimes two!). Usually this will combine dinner out with my husband, seeing friends and family, and a few treats along the way.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin broke my heart and put it back together again several times.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian – what’s not to love about pizza and pasta!
What do you do when you have free time?
I read, run, and knit (with varied results!).
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a speculative fiction, currently titled THE REVISIONISTS, about a group of university students who are rocked when they learn that one of them has reversed the aging process, and has actually lived life once before. The novel follows their journeys into adulthood, how the betrayal impacts each of them, and whether they decide to de-age themselves and live life again.
DEATH DO US by Ruthy Mason
Narrator: Catrin Walker-Booth
One of “The 13 Best Novels of 2026 That You Absolutely Need to Read” — Marie Claire
A haunting debut novel that unpicks the traditional views of marriage through the lens of body horror and charts the literal unraveling of a woman moving ever closer into its grasp.
Bea, a promising young archaeologist, has just gotten engaged. It should be the most exciting time of her life, but she can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. She can’t stop thinking about a more daring version of herself who always imagined breaking with convention—an elopement, a brightly colored dress, an open marriage. However, as plans for the big day solidify, Bea begins to see the appeal of a big white dress, a huge reception, and a life with just one man. But as she begins to sort through bridesmaid dresses and look at venues, she notices her skin is flaking and sagging, and her hair is beginning to fall out in clumps. Her engagement ring, an unusual family heirloom from her fiancé, is getting tighter and tighter. Something is crawling under her skin. Someone is watching her from the shadows . . .
Women’s Fiction Family Life | Fiction Literary | Thriller Psychological [ Union Square & Co., On Sale: June 30, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781454965152 / eISBN: 9781454965169 ]
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About Ruthy Mason
Ruthy Mason is a writer based in North London. After studying archaeology and anthropology at University College London, she completed a master’s in creative writing at the University of Cambridge, and is now working towards her PhD at Anglia Ruskin University. She won the Michael Holroyd Prize for Re-creative Fiction and was shortlisted for the Mslexia Fiction Competition.
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