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Book Review: Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne

Cover art for Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne

Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2026
ISBN-13: 979-8217177769
Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook (pre-order before September 29)
Buy: Bookshop.org  | Amazon.com

 

Those obnoxious English aristocrats never want to share their beautiful country houses with the help while they go on vacation. Why? I mean, they aren’t there anyway, are they? What’s worse, when their minions do decide to invite themselves over, one of those snooty people comes back unexpectedly and makes everyone feel like they deserve whatever they get just for having a little fun and relaxation. No one would expect things to take such a turn.

 

Martha has an inkling, though. Those bones in the barrel? They might be deer bones. Maybe. The horses gone from the stable? Strange, but whatever. The main thing is that plenty of food and alcohol are available. Strangely, the meals are all leftovers, but so what? The partiers are too drunk to care. The group’s host has barely started the job. It’s a bit brazen to risk losing his position by having everyone over for an illicit house party, one would think. Clearly, bad things are about to happen– and they do.

 

What makes this story extra interesting is finding out what happens after the catastrophe. The sullen townspeople do not seem very sympathetic to the plight of the survivor when she turns up. In fact, they seem hostile, so you get to thinking the creepy stories like the one about the so-called Dripping Man might be true. The poor victim is going through some physical and mental challenges and spends time on odd websites which give tips on eating and how to lock yourself up at night.

 

In Part 2 of the novel, the survivor is invited to join a club with others she can relate to, which is unusual given the invitation comes from Lady Lambert herself, who has her own secrets and is far from innocent. What blue-blooded nonsense has this woman gotten herself into?

 

Jennifer Thorne’s Newbourne Park is a rollicking good time in spite of its dark take on what goes on in the English countryside after the sun goes down. The narrator is cheeky, sarcastic, and cool. She tells us everything, accurately and honestly, and she is far from naive. At the same time, she is, somehow, not to be trusted. A lurking suspense and fear build throughout this book in the same manner as music heightens the emotions in a horror film making the viewer think the worst even while the action suggests nothing of the sort. At the same time, the most horrible details are unpleasantly normalized. This is a horror novel with attitude and a creative swerve in that we certainly know what there is to know, yet we are surprised by what we know and even more surprised by what happens as a result. Chalk it all up to some superbly inventive writing by Jennifer Thorne.

 

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Posted on August 25, 2026 by , Reply

Book Review: Estate Sale by Mia Dalia

Estate Sale by Mia Dalia cover art

Estate Sale by Mia Dalia

Lethe Press, 2025

ISBN-13: 9781590215579

Available: Paperback, Kindle ebook

 

After the passing of Lady Koshmaroff, an estate sale draws the attention of the community, who knew very little about her and her late husband. Once the locals start buying the everyday objects from the house, strange things start happening to the new owners of these possessions. A writer buys a rocking chair and, after a long stint of writer’s block, he begins to write…and write…and write. A teenager, aspiring to be a comic artist, finds the quill her grandfather bought at an estate sale before he died holds an amazing secret that frees her from the confines of an uncaring mother and a stepfather whose recent medical condition she feels guilty about… maybe. A man returns to his hometown after an adventurous life, and caters the wedding of the man who was his first kiss, leading to rekindled, conflicting feelings, that end with a dark secret revealed and a mysterious engraved cup. A wife purchases a magnifying glass for her discredited investigator husband in the hopes it will give him some confidence, which leads to obsession over his most recent case. These are only a fraction of the objects purchased from the estate.

 

Between tales of the objects and their buyers is the strange history of Russian couple Ana and Pavel Koshmaroff, who managed to escape numerous atrocities in Europe in the early 20th century, finally settling in the United States. Throughout their story, Pavel introduces Ana to friends made across the world, including the infamous Aleister Crowley and other practitioners of magick. He also collects a seemingly eclectic assortment of objects, which she inherits at Pavel’s death.

 

Dalia expertly weaves the couple’s travels through history with the stories of the buyers of objects from the estate sale. Her ability to turn what seems like an everyday object into something sinister, or a strange comfort, added to the suspense and mystery of the Koshmaroff line. Although there is a large cast of characters, Dalia provides each of them a distinct voice and personality, and sometimes they cross paths with each other. This effect makes the setting feel small, despite the fact that some characters have moved out the of community, only to be pulled back for various reasons, to come across the estate sale at the center of the book.

 

Estate Sale would be a great recommendation for readers who like historical horror, gothic horror, short story collections, and intricate yet simple world building. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 10, 2026 by , Reply

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

Cover art for Grey Dog by Elliot Gish

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

ECW Press, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1770417328

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

In 1901 Canada,  Ada Byrd, fleeing from a sex scandal and escaping from under her father’s thumb, takes up a position as a school teacher in the small town of Lowry Bridge. Things go well at the beginning: she is welcomed by the families, and makes new friends, such as Agatha, the minister’s wife. Ada goes to church, helps organize picnics and plays, and freely dances at one of the town’s festivities. She follows the town’s rules and their suspicions of the wild child, Muriel, and the spinster, Mrs. Kinsley, who the town considers a witch.

 

The civilized life she leads is in contrast to the dark woods surrounding the town. To get from the schoolhouse to the home she shares with her host family, the Griers, she must pass eerie woods that seem to be watching her every move. Time goes on, and the ordered and civilized life she leads starts to fade, as her past life comes back to haunt her and the town starts to reveal its secrets. Ada slowly breaks away from the rigid conventions of the town, and feels drawn to the wildness of the woods. She starts spending more time with town outcasts, Muriel and Mrs. Kinsley, and rejects Agatha and Mrs. Grier, the more accepted members of society.

 

Ada writes in her journal that there are many ways to be a good man, but only one way to be a good woman. The pressure of women being forced into specific gender roles breaks Ada, and you see her slow descent into madness as she breaks the bonds of civility. She’s not just refusing to shave her legs or wearing white after Labor Day. The book is a slow burn but at the end, it revs up like The Shining. It goes from psychological and paranormal horror to a slasher.

 

Even though it has feminist themes, Ada herself is somewhat self-hating of women and seems to take her trauma out on the women in the book rather than the men who hurt her. Grey Dog is well-written, and Ada’s descent is reminiscent of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This novel had so many themes, such as trauma, sapphic love, rape, birth, death, gender roles, and yearning that it is a haunting read that will have you thinking about it and running online to find out what others thought of it. I recommend it, though the ending might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

 

Reviewed by Lucy Nguyen

 

Posted on April 4, 2026 by , Reply
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