Synopsis
A haunting and seductive tale of a young career woman who slides quickly into the role of stepmother, in a life that may still belong to someone else. “Vivid, addictive, and crackling with life (yes, even the ghost), House of Beth asks us to consider how and why we make the lives we make” (Lynn Steger Strong).
After a heart-wrenching breakup with her girlfriend and a shocking incident at her job, Cassie flees her life as an overworked assistant in New York for her hometown in New Jersey, along the Delaware. There, she reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father of two. Their bond reignites, and within a few short months, Cassie is married to Eli, living in his house in the woods, homeschooling the kids, and getting to know her reserved neighbor, Joan.
But Cassie’s fresh start is less idyllic than she’d hoped. She grapples with harm OCD, her mind haunted by gory, graphic images. And she’s afraid that she’ll never measure up to Eli’s late spouse, who was a committed homemaker and traditional wife. No matter what Cassie does, Beth’s shadow still permeates every corner of their home.
Soon, Cassie starts hearing a voice narrating the house’s secrets. As she listens, the voice grows stronger, guiding Cassie down a path to uncover the truth about Beth’s untimely death.
Review
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for this physical ARC! I was intrigued by the cover, and I can’t resist new takes on the haunted house story.
This was pitched in the galley email as “A ghost story unlike any other.” I honestly can’t sum it up any better than that. This was the most unique take on the haunted house story I’ve ever read. For the first time ever, I felt as if I read something true, real, possible, and yet it was paranormal. Of course there are notes of horror and thriller, but this really exists as its own thing. It’s not trying to chill or scare, it’s not blood pounding or jump scaring. Yet there is a sort of creeping eeriness to it, but that for me, came from the mundanity of her everyday tasks.
Cassie retreats from a shocking breakup and incident at work to her hometown. She’s crashing at her father’s old place while figuring it out when she runs into her ex best friend. Things reignite, things that had previously led to their falling out, however this time, there’s no significant other in the way. This struck me as odd, because frankly, his wife had died and I thought it was quite recent. The first 50-70 pages shocked me in that way, all the things taking place seemed to come at you far too fast, too easily. But I think their familiarity, as well as her dire straits, are what led to it reading as almost effortless. And that’s why I carried on…well that, and the fact that I was waiting for the ghostly shoe to drop.
The chapters from Beth’s somewhat-ethereal perspective gripped me the further I got into this read and I felt myself genuinely craving to know more. Cassie was interesting and dealing with a lot, but what had happened with Beth? I had to know. And honestly, who was involved—because at that point in the story, I wasn’t trusting anybody. What surprised me the most though, was how unassuming and almost laidback Beth was. It was a side to ghosts and death that I don’t feel is often portrayed. In a way it reminded me of The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power as Beth becomes more cognizant.
I really ended up enjoying this one as it made the mundane daily tasks of a stepparent seem much more alarming than your home or person being possessed by a ghost. That, and the calming nature of her presence against that of Cassie’s harm OCD, flooding the reader with random depictions of extreme blood and bodily harm.
Mildly spoilery beneath…
I don’t know if this was an actual plot point of the author’s, but it continues to hold worth that you NEVER trust your partner’s “don’t worry about them” person. It just never seems to end well.
Also a modern book finally mentioned pop punk? Might be the first time I’ve seen it, and I respect it.
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