Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Award Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Horror (2023), Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel (2023)
Book Blurb:
A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.
When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.
Margaret is not most people.
Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.
My Review:
Ah, gee. It’s a horror story? I just thought haunted house, okay, well, that should be fun.
I guess in several ways, it is meant to be humorous, but I couldn’t find that kind of gore funny. I know you’re wondering then, why I continued reading it. I’m just that stubborn?
Initially, the hook will have many people identifying with the characters. Margaret and hubby find an old Victorian for sale at a ridiculously cheap price. Of course it is. Should have been razed years ago. Failing that, it’ll need a lot of repair work, rehab even. But the location…oh yeah, private, quiet, out in the sticks. What could go wrong?
The first September in the house pretty much answers that question. There are all the usual haunting sounds, but thrown in are rivulets of blood cascading down the walls, barely there visible ghosts in all their horrific mutilated countenance along with the usual demons, a lone priest, and suicidal birds.
Some characters are rather benign; some aren’t friendly at all. I think the daughter, Katherine, actually provided the obnoxious antagonist, while it could be the maid who provided the thoughtful sidekick and occasional attempt at providing the satire.
The plot moves along fairly well with increasing tension and suspense that always comes back with “He’s down there.” And he was. There were plot twists and an interesting ending—pretty creative—enough to have kept me reading.
I read this for October; if you haven’t read it and have an interest in horror, you might enjoy this novel with not just an unreliable narrator or crazy MC, but a questionably stomach-turning storyline as well.
Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Ghost Horror Fiction, Ghost Fiction, Ghost Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: Kimberly Farr
Release Date: September 5, 2023
Title Links:
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Carissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in work with children and adolescents. In her “day job,” Carissa works to improve the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Prior to her career in psychology, Carissa studied creative writing in college and has written creatively in some form since she was a child. It was only a matter of time before Carissa, an avid horror fan for much of her life, merged her understanding of the human psyche and deep love for storytelling into a piece of fiction. [Goodreads]
©2026 V Williams
