Don't Tell a Soul

November 1, 2020
Haunted girls reclaim their narratives in this modern take on a gothic novel. When scandal drives her out of Manhattan, Bram Howland goes to stay with her Uncle James. He lives in a grand mansion in a small Hudson Valley town where outsiders are despised and local lore about the so-called "Dead Girls" leads many to believe the house is cursed. Recently, a fire destroyed part of it, killing Uncle James' second wife. Although officially ruled an accident, James believes his stepdaughter, Lark, who is now in a mental hospital, started the fire after becoming fixated on a girl who once lived in the manor and drowned herself. Bram knows what it's like to be silenced and not trusted, and she expects that Lark was saner than rumors say: She's determined to find the truth even as strange, eerie happenings occur and she finds herself in danger. The book opens during a blizzard and succeeds in maintaining a moody, unsettling atmosphere throughout the straightforward, plot-driven story. Some characterization is thin, and Bram's history with drug abuse and rehab feels underexplored. However, the novel is thematically rich, encouraging readers to question the crazy-woman trope and showcasing women's fortitude against all odds. Twists abound, and numerous plot threads are satisfyingly tied together in the powerful ending. All main characters are White by default. The real world proves more frightening than ghosts in this fast-paced, female-driven story. (Paranormal. 14-18)

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November 16, 2020
When Bram Howland’s troubles begin threatening her widowed mother’s social standing, the 17-year-old recovering drug addict heads upstate from Manhattan to Louth, where her uncle James is renovating a mansion built by the town’s namesake. Locals believe the building has been cursed since 1890, when 18-year-old Grace Louth drowned herself in the Hudson River after her father bribed her lover to leave town. Multiple “dead girls” have subsequently been linked to the house, most recently James’s second wife, Dahlia Bellinger, who died in a fire allegedly set by her teenage daughter, Lark. James claims that Lark, who is now in a mental hospital, became obsessed with Grace Louth while living in the manor and went mad. Bram suspects there is more to the story, though—particularly after she starts seeing Grace’s ghost. Miller (the Kiki Strike series) delivers a feminist twist on gothic horror that thrills and chills while exploring the myriad ways that society tries to silence “problematic” women. Tense, twisty plotting and atmospheric prose help offset some superficial character development, propelling the book to a rewarding, optimistic close. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor.

January 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-Miller's spooky gothic mystery starts with Bram, a white teen girl, plowing through a blizzard on a train. She's on her way to her uncle's expansive manor in Louth, a town along the Hudson River. Bram is escaping a bad situation in New York City, but it soon becomes apparent she has left one complicated misery for another. Stories about "dead girls" have haunted the manor for ages, and the fates of these young women seem to be tied up in strong community distrust of the gentrifying behavior of visitors and transplants from the city. Miller sets an effective gothic vibe: a creepy old house, town legends that are not what they seem, and things that go bump in the night. Family, townsfolk, house staff, and potential allies lurk around, giving Bram bits of information as she tries to get to the bottom of what happened to the dead girls and how it might be tied to her own family tragedies. It is clear that Bram is in danger in Louth, but no one will tell her why, and from whom, and that is the strength of this novel. Both the "what is happening," and "who can you trust" suspense is tight until the very end. Bram has been through a lot (repressed memories of trauma around family death, addiction, sexual assault), and has not had a lot of support, and Miller has a lot to say about how much easier it is for society to paint an unhappy woman as "crazy" instead of listening to her. VERDICT A spooky, satisfying mystery.-Beth McIntyre, formerly at Madison P.L., WI

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