Ghost

Book Buzz: The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders

Adult Fiction, African American & Black, Family Life, Ghost, Literary

The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders “I was visiting a bookstore when I dreamed up the opening lines to The Great Wherever. I was standing in my favorite sections―literary fiction―browsing backlist titles and delighting at how some of my longtime favorites blended the modern and hyper-realistic with unexpected elements of the supernatural. I’d been noodling over a novel for years by then, and suddenly―as if a key had turned in a lock―one began writing itself on the journal in my mind. First came the opening words, and then a sudden revelation: A ghost should tell this story.”
― Shannon Sanders, Letter to booksellers

What booksellers are saying about The Great Wherever

A winding tale of Aubrey Lamb and her journey in adulthood after the loss of her father and the breakup of her longtime boyfriend. She is joined in her tale by four family ghosts connected to her family land in Tennessee, who share through flashbacks their own stories and connections to the land.
― Emily, Story Hollow, Madisonville, Tennessee | BUY
Well-crafted debut novel brimming with atmosphere and family secrets, this story chronicles the lives of the Lamb family through multiple generations on their farm near Memphis. This story is rich and complex with lots of skeletons in the family closet.
― Karen, Righton Books, St Simons Island, Georgia | BUY
Loved this one! An interesting look at how our family affects us, even generations later. I wonder what my own ghosts would have to say?
― Brooke, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY
This novel captures how generational trauma is inherited over time and beautifully illustrates themes of identity, self-worth, and personal growth. It shows how, despite balking against our family tree, the past continues to live on in us. There is charm and wisdom in Sanders’ storytelling. While much difficult history is explored, it’s handled with tenderness, grace, and humor.
― Sarah, Old Town Books, Alexandria, Virginia | BUY

About Shannon Sanders

Shannon Sanders is the author of the linked short story collection Company, which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes’ Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named one of the best books of 2023 by Publishers Weekly and Debutiful, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including One Story, The Sewanee Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Electric Literature, and has received a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.

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Decomposition Book by Sara van Os

Adult Fiction, Coming of Age, Dark Humor, Friendship, Ghost, Horror, Humorous, Lesbian, LGBTQ+, Mashups, Psychological, Romance, Women

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Ooooh, yes. The premise grabbed me immediately, the cover is perfection, and the story is engrossing, if a wee bit unfulfilling at the end. College student Savannah is reeling (well, spiraling) after a friendship breakup and has retreated to an isolated cabin to drink away her woes. It’s not going particularly well, given her OCD and other mental health challenges. One morning, she wakes up next to a corpse in the woods. Awkward. There’s a journal next to the corpse, which recounts the harrowing set of circumstances that led to the young woman’s death. Instead of reporting the body, Savannah…bonds with it? For lack of a better phrasing. She starts reading the journal and visiting the corpse, and before long, she has formed an emotional attachment with the ghost of the dead hiker. If it sounds trippy, it is. It’s wild and unhinged and occasionally messy and gory. And I’m here for the mess. We also get to read along in the hiker’s journal. Her name is Ava, and watching her story unfold keeps you on the edge of your seat, even as you know where the story ends. The ending was a bit unsatisfying, but not so much that it detracts from the thrill of the story to that point. Great themes of mental health, toxic friendship, and how we heal.

Decomposition Book by Sara van Os, (List Price: $30, Hanover Square Press, 9781335001894, May 2026)

Reviewed by Kate, Plaid Elephant Books in Danville, KY

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Vigil by George Saunders

Adult Fiction, Bestsellers, Fiction, Ghost, Literary, Nature & Environment

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Vigil is a book that, with astounding brevity, delves into one of the main issues of modern life, our reliance on oil and the impact the oil industry has had on the world as well as the complexities of how it damages the environment while also being essential to maintaining society as it currently functions. This book gravitates around a dying man, K.J. Boone, who is largely responsible for the oil industry’s success and impact. But Vigil is not a portrait of one man with a wide-angle lens. It is a portrait of humanity, and the camera zooms in and shifts focus, and zooms in even more. At points, it focuses the lens directly on its reader at close range, like a mirror, and suggests they take an honest look. And just when you think you have seen the whole picture and formed your opinion, Saunders challenges that opinion and re-frames the image. This book is full of keen, searing insights and big ideas woven into a compelling story full of a vivid cast of characters so well realized you will hate them, cry for them, want to shake them and yell at them and hug them and mourn for them. But most of all, Saunders presents these characters from a place of open-minded understanding and humanity. He sees them and writes them in full color, no character is all good or all evil; not CEOs in the oil industry, not our narrator who, when confronted with the more than questionable morality of her charge, longs to escape to her old life, and not the reader who may find that they relate to some of the shortcomings of these characters. Vigil explores and exposes the morally grey in all of us, the hungers and fears that drive our actions and inactions, and juxtaposes all of the tiny wonderful things in life with the ways in which we threaten the possibility of those very things by avoiding direct eye contact with this out of control monster we have all had a hand in creating and refer to as society.

Vigil by George Saunders, (List Price: $28, Random House, 9780525509622, January 2026)

Reviewed by Savannah Laughlin, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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Book Buzz: Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Humerous, Literary

Daria Lavelle, photo credit Caroline Baptista Food has always been an obsession of mine, but I had never written it really into my fiction, aside from, occasionally describing what somebody was eating, describing a flavor somebody remembered. But this was the first time where, I think years of reading cookbooks, of watching cooking shows, of watching my parents cook, of cooking myself, and experiencing different flavors and different cuisines, and being really tuned into that…I think this was when all of that sort of manifested. This was my first try at writing something that felt like eating. And there were even moments where I would try to eat the foods that I was describing to get the mouth feel right…I completely invented recipes for for several of the dishes in Aftertaste that wind up being these sort of spiritual connections that can bring a spirit back. And in some cases, I would attempt to make the flavors, but in most cases, I just knew in my head what it would taste like from from just experiencing cooking and experiencing flavors. I would use that sort of intuition, also paired with what that character needed at the time. So I think one of the things in Aftertaste that happens is that the food is never just the food. The food is really evocative of a particular flavor of memory. So is it they’re sweet? Is it? Is it something that really disturbs the spirit that’s trying to come back? Is it something warm? Is it something that they’re excited to taste again? Is it a recollection that buoys them, or is it something that crushes them?

― Daria Lavelle, Interview, Table Talk

What booksellers are saying about Aftertaste

If you could have one meal, just one more perfect special meal, with anyone who has passed on from this world, what would it be? Granny’s mashed potatoes? The cheezy fries you used to have with your college roommate? In Aftertaste, a fun cautionary tale that reads a bit like a mash up of The Bear meets the Sixth Sense, you just might get the chance to order up. Fast paced, fun, and a little fantastical, Aftertaste is delicious delightful.
― Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY
The richness of the following recipe is enough to make any reader’s mouth water. One part NYC high pressure kitchen culture, one part communing with the Dead, two parts learning to love and be loved, one half part mobster madness, one half part spice. Whisk together with a heavy dollop of grief over low heat until heartwarmingly creamy. Best served with a side of cheeky comedy.
― Mandy Martin, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee | BUY
I was debating on whether to shelf this book in Fantasy, Mystery, Food or Fiction, as each of these elements are strongly represented in Aftertaste….but, my recommendation would be on the front table. This was a delightful book with plenty of twists and turns. I always enjoy a book with multiple likable characters and this book certainly does just that. The author does a great job of building a story while never quite letting you know what is around the next bend.
― Jim Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida | BUY
What if you could have one last meal with a lost loved one? What if your lost loved one could come back for one last conversation and the closure you both need? Daria Lavelle combines ghosts with international cuisine and explores the power of food, how it tells stories, holds histories, heals us, connects us, and lets us express ourselves. It’s equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching. There’s loss and grief and regret, but there’s also friendship and joy and love. And let me tell you – Lavelle knows how to write about real love… You will drool, your chest will ache with loss, you will hold your breath, groan with frustration, swoon, and close the book full of hope. You will also look up a hundred new foods you’ve never heard of but will immediately want to try!
― Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia | BUY

About Daria Lavelle

Daria Lavelle is an American fiction writer. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in the New York metro area, her work explores themes of identity and belonging through magic and the uncanny. Her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and elsewhere, and she holds degrees in writing from Princeton University and Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, children, and goldendoodle, all of whom love a great meal almost as much as she does. Learn more at DariaLavelle.com..

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Spotlight On: Woodworm by Layla Martinez

Adult Fiction, Feminist, Ghost, Horror, Spain, Women, World Literature

Layla Martinez, photo by JMLazarocastillo

Initially, Woodworm was a short story. It was summer, I was spending a few days at my grandmother’s house, which is the house that appears in the novel, and I was in my bedroom, about to go to sleep, when the wardrobe door opened. In that wardrobe are not everyday clothes, but special clothes for the family, like my grandmother’s wedding dress, the habit my uncle wears during Holy Week or the dress my grandmother wants to be buried in. The door opened by itself and it was quite scary, and in that moment I knew I wanted to write about the history of that closet, the history of the house and the history of the women who had lived in it.

― Layla Martinez, Center for the Art of Translation

What booksellers are saying about Woodworm

This was extraordinary, so original and a stellar play on the classic story of a haunted house. Captivating and thrilling, with a great ending to boot. An awesome ride.
― Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama | BUY
Woodworm is one of those books that digs itself a home under your skin. The story of four generations of women and the ghosts–both literal and figurative–they live with, Woodworm tackles violence, generational trauma, and a feminine rage so deep it rots in your core.
― Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas | BUY
Some books are polite when they invite you in: they hold the door, offer refreshments, let you poke around as you please for a few pleasant afternoons and then bid you farewell as you head back out into the big bright world. Woodworm doesn’t do this. It draws you in and then slams the door behind you, sealing you inside a madhouse labyrinth of chattering shadows. This is fitting, as Woodworm is a novel about traps: generations of women trapped in a house beset with ghosts and insectoid angels; a village trapped by poverty; far too many girls trapped inside the purgatory of disempowerment and violence against their bodies; and the final trap: that little worm of uncontrollable rage that burrows its way inside your guts and never lets you sleep while your enemies live… I literally gripped this book so tightly that I bent its cover. Part of me will remain within its pages for a long, long time.
― Charlie Monroe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY

About Layla Martinez

Layla Martínez (Madrid, 1987) is the author of two nonfiction books in Spanish, Surrogate Pregnancy (Pepitas de calabaza, 2019) and Utopia is not an Island (Episkaia, 2020), as well as stories and articles in numerous anthologies. She has translated essays and novels, writes about music for El Salto, and about television for La Última Hora. Since 2014 she has co-directed the independent publisher Antipersona. Woodworm is her first novel.

Sophie Hughes is a British literary translator who primarily translates from Spanish to English. She has translated more than a dozen books, including the works of José Revueltas and Enrique Vila-Matas for New Directions. She was shortlisted for the 2019 and 2020 International Booker Prize.

Annie McDermott is a translator working from Spanish and Portuguese. Her published and forthcoming translations include Empty Words and The Luminous Novel by Mario Levrero, Dead Girls and Brickmakers by Selva Almada, Feebleminded by Ariana Harwicz (co-translation with Carolina Orloff), and Loop by Brenda Lozano. She also reviews books for the Times Literary Supplement. She has previously lived in Mexico City and São Paulo, Brazil, and now lives by the sea in Hastings, UK.

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The Apartment by Ana Menéndez

Adult Fiction, Fiction, Ghost, Historical, Women

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I feel now as if I live in apartment 2B. Having lived in it through the decades that Menendez’ book covers, I feel that its bumpy floors and cast iron pan are a part of me now, too. The writing here was lovely and the pace meditative. Menendez fleshed out each life that touched this apartment so effectively that I felt I had visited them when a new chapter begun. The characters were vivid and real, and the place work was so strong that Miami Beach was a character in itself. Highly recommend this one.

The Apartment by Ana Menéndez, (List Price: 27, Counterpoint, 9781640095830, June 2023)

Reviewed by Becca Sloan, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

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The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Adult Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, Horror

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Thank you to Johnny Compton for writing such an excellent novel that highlighted an African-American family, but also for explaining what a spite house is. This is an amazing Gothic horror where we have a haunted house situation, the past always seems to catch up to us in the end, and you can feel the spooky ambiance the entire time you are reading! Eric Ross and his two daughters are currently avoiding their past lives and are living out of motel rooms when Eric reads a job listing to stay at a spite house in Texas to try to capture any evidence of supernatural activity. You get MULTIPLE point of views, but it keeps the story moving very well and it is almost seamless. For example, one moment you are reading the POV of the homeowner who is trying to employ Eric and she is finishing up a meeting with a group of ghost hunters and the next chapter is Eric’s POV and it mentions he walks into a meeting room as a group of men are walking out, so it literally picks up where another leaves off. However, there were a few POVs from side characters that I could have done completely without. It was nice to read about the previous tenants of the spite house who had taken the job right before Eric, though. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the twist about why the family is on the run is epic! One negative I would say is that the ending felt a little rushed and it did not hold up as well compared to the rest of the book in my opinion. However, that did not take anything away from how much I enjoyed the novel overall. Eric is a bad dude for staying in that creepy house by himself to try to make a better life for himself and his girls!

The Spite House by Johnny Compton, (List Price: 17.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250891952, February 2023)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

Adult Fiction, Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, Horror, Spooky

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Someone once told me that laughter is the human response to what makes them uncomfortable. This story is like Shirley Jackson and Christopher Moore had a book baby and Motherthing was the result. Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with his mentally ill mother as caretakers. Abby thinks this is her chance to win over her mother in law. She’s wrong. Dead wrong. The story telling in this book is brilliantly funny at times and deeply disturbing at others. Mark Abrams cover art drew me in but Ainslie Hogarth’s ability to make me cringe and laugh at the same time kept me reading.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth, (List Price: $17, Vintage, 9780593467022, September 2022)

Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Spotlight on: Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Adult Fiction, Ghost, Indigenous, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths

“It was important to me to share a contemporary story of a Navajo woman living today. Being Navajo is a small part; the book is about a woman and her work. That’s what’s different. It’s not about creating a Navajo persona, or about delegating myself to show a certain way of life for a woman. I have a responsibility to Navajo people, and to all people, to tell the truth. I want people to see that Navajos are dynamic and that they do a million different things. I show some of them.” –Ramona Emerson, Interview, Terrain.org

What booksellers are saying about Shutter

Rita Todacheene has seen ghosts since she was a child growing up in the Navajo Nation. Now a forensic photographer, Rita’s life is upended by these spirits seeking justice for their murders, while her friends and coworkers question her sanity. This thrilling mystery left me hoping to see more of Rita Todacheene in future novels. ―Lia Lent from Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas
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I really enjoyed this story about an indigenous crime scene photographer who can see ghosts. Dark and atmospheric! I’ll recommend SHUTTER to mystery and psychological suspense readers. Loved the dual timeline of present day and main character’s childhood.
―Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
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What a stunner! I couldn’t put down this story of a young Navajo forensic photographer in Albuquerque, New Mexico who can also communicate with the lost spirits of the dead. A mystery mixed with the myth and mysticism of the Navajo people with was a page turner that almost had me calling in sick to work because I wanted to read this from cover to cover, and almost did much to my boss’s chagrin. ―Pete Mock from McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina
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About Ramona Emerson

Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She has a bachelor’s in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. After starting in forensic videography, she embarked upon a career as a photographer, writer, and editor. She is an Emmy nominee, a Sundance Native Lab Fellow, a Time-Warner Storyteller Fellow, a Tribeca All-Access Grantee and a WGBH Producer Fellow. In 2020, Emerson was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Film and Media Industries for the State of New Mexico. She currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she and her husband, the producer Kelly Byars, run their production company Reel Indian Pictures. Shutter is her first novel.

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The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates

Adult Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, Horror

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This next instalment of the Gravekeeper Series hasn’t even come out yet, and yet I’m already itching to read the next part of Kiera’s story. This series is the most unexpectedly delightful combination of spooky, action packed, and heartwarming slice of life all wrapped up in a mystery. I find myself falling in love with all of the characters, from the kindly pastor Adage, to the cheery “not a doctor” Mason. However I adore most of all our main character and amnesia ridden ghost whisperer Kiera. I adore this series and cannot wait for the next one!

The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates, (List Price: $14.99, Poisoned Pen Press, 9781728239224, March 2022)

Reviewed by Ana Staff, Foggy Pine Books in Boone, North Carolina

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