I chose this one on the off-chance it might actually be a ghost story. While it sort of is, I’m not actually going to count it as my ghost story, as I feel the final emphasis is on something much more psychological and emotional. Let me explain. The premise of this novel is fairly simple. Lainey Taylor’s husband is an alcoholic and someone who has become a danger to her and her daughter. Her threats to leave have merely sparked threats from him and his rich and powerful mother to deprive her access to her daughter. As any other rational woman would think, the obvious answer is to set up an elaborate fake haunting in order to torture an already mentally disturbed man into tucking his tail between his legs and heading for the hills. I mean, that doesn’t over-complicate things at all, right? It’s completely and normal and rational for a suburban mom to go to such lengths to get away from a terrible man.
As you can see, I was very turned off by this premise. Even if I didn’t like Callum and recognized the importance of removing him from the family environment, Lainey’s methods were so unhinged that I wasn’t sure either was an appropriate caretaker for a child. This whole novel is a testament to how toxicity breeds more toxicity. The supernatural elements were much more rooted in the actual shitshow being manifested by these two people who were no longer good for each other. It’s not lost on me that there’s an element of reality to this outlandish plot, especially when it comes to divorce and custody matters. Feuding parents can sometimes allow their own issues to spiral out of control twisting their originally good intentions for protecting their children into something that is more harmful to the children in the long run.
It can be quite ugly to confront those inner demons that twist us into someone we never thought we were capable of becoming. The grotesque and frightening aspect to the haunting in this novel becomes a very personal and uncomfortable image when framed in this light. When viewing the book from that perspective, I gained a lot more respect and insight into what Carmen was trying to accomplish, and it made my own discomfort with the main character and her actions much easier to stomach. Lainey’s best friend and partner in crime? Well, I think she may be a sadist. She enjoyed torturing a man way too much. That’s a matter for another day. She certainly helped keep things interesting. It’s clear Lainey (for all intents and purposes, a doormat) would have never taken such drastic steps without someone pushing her gullible butt into it. If anything, I didn’t really like how this third party’s role in all the chaos was just swept under the rug and forgotten. There are more than two people here who need therapy.
Overall, I found this book highly frustrating but I appreciate what it tries to say. I wasn’t overly fond of any characters, but that’s sort of the point. It may not make for more enjoyable reading, but it does give the reader something to ponder.
Published October 7, 2026 by Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 9781662530746. 337 pages. Paperback.
Arthur Pepper, aged 69, is at a pivotal time in life. Recently widowed, he wakes every morning wanting little more than to slog through his daily routine with little contact with the outside world. He wakes at the same time, wears the same clothes, and cares for his only companion, Frederica the fern. Oh, and he attempts to avoid the well-meaning also-widowed neighbor who has adopted him as her current “lost cause” in need of fresh baked goods. On the one-year anniversary of his beloved wife’s death, however, he finds a beautiful piece of Miriam’s jewelry he’d never seen hidden inside an old shoe. Attached to a lovely gold bracelet are a series of charms, each of which holds a story that will lead Arthur on a journey to discover Miriam’s secret past.
I originally chose this novel as a Haunted House book for my reading challenge, but I have changed my mind. While there is that element of the creepy family home of hidden terrors that plague the nightmares of the now-grown children, that’s not really what this book is about. People looking for tense moments of aching dread, jump scares, and ghoulish imagery will need to look elsewhere. This novel is so much more introspective.
A Librarian and Her Books 