connorjdaley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Received the audio through NetGalley, and I thought that Rachel Fulginiti did a great job with this.
This was a unique story for me. I was for the most part pulled in by the cover, so I did not give the blurb a read. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was not for the main character to be murdered in the very beginning of the story! I guess I thought with the book’s title that it would be about her being haunted, not killed and becoming a ghost! (FYI, that is revealed in the blurb, so not me spoiling). So, it was a nice surprise and worked for me as a plot twist.
The main character is believable and relatable. Her grief and paranoia has pushed her to become a complete agoraphobe inside her well secured apartment complex. Even though she completely cuts herself off from the outside, it’s not enough to keep her safe. Nothing is. I didn’t really feel like that was creepy while listening to it, but now that I’m writing it out it surely does.
The author does a great job subverting a lot of the expectations around paranormal activity—what a ghost can do, and can not do, may surprise you a lot. It is much more along the lines of someone normal trapped in the in between of life and death, than it is like a malignant spirit in movies.
The author weaves a very twisting story, where every character, and every interaction, may lead to another clue or even another mystery. My only gripe is I did feel like this went on to the point where the main character’s story is a little less mysterious than I wished it would have been. Personally a 4/5* for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
amobrien's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
If you're in the mood for a paranormal thriller, I highly recommend The Ghosts of Thorwald Place. It's dark and tense with more than a few horror elements. The paranormal aspect is blended into the mystery well — sometimes when I'm reading a mystery, especially a domestic thriller, I feel like the addition of ghosts pulls away from the story, but this is a story that is 100% benefitted from it. There were some twists that I expected, but there were also many that completely surprised me. Overall, I found this to be a really interesting read, but I would recommend checking the content warnings before diving in.
If you're in the mood for a paranormal thriller, I highly recommend The Ghosts of Thorwald Place. It's dark and tense with more than a few horror elements. The paranormal aspect is blended into the mystery well — sometimes when I'm reading a mystery, especially a domestic thriller, I feel like the addition of ghosts pulls away from the story, but this is a story that is 100% benefitted from it. There were some twists that I expected, but there were also many that completely surprised me. Overall, I found this to be a really interesting read, but I would recommend checking the content warnings before diving in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Addiction, Stalking, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Body horror
booksanddopamine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
I didn’t want to put this book down! It had me engaged from the first chapter. The book is written from the POV of the ghost of a murdered woman and she finds that Thorwald Place is haunted by more than ghosts. I enjoyed snooping around Thorwald Place with her and discovering the residents’ dark secrets - and the secrets that are unearthed about those who the protagonist thought she knew. I loved that there were so many little mysteries within the bigger mystery of the book. The way the supernatural tied in with the real world I thought was done well. There were some good twists I didn’t see coming.
Minor spoiler related to content warning for animal death:
Spoiler
If you’re sensitive to animal abuse, there is a part where the protagonist finds her missing cat dead. It’s around minute 04:26 of chapter 40 in the audiobook (around 06:51:47 of the entire audiobook). If you’re reading the book, it’s toward the end of her diary entry after chapter 31 where she’s talking about all of the flies in the house and they go to investigate the fireplace. Just skip past that part. You won’t miss anything crucial to the story. I wish I had known about that part ahead of time so I could have skipped it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Animal death
More...