The leaves are falling and they’re almost all off the trees, but I’m going to enjoy them before Jeremy gets the leaf blower going!
Thanks to Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!
THIS CURSED HOUSE – Del Sandeen (Released October 8th, 2024)
Book Description:
In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth. They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.
In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over.
But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.
As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
When there’s a book scaredstraightreads AND shellysbookcorner (on Instagram) agree on being amazing, you gotta prioritize it on the spook season TBR and based on Shelly’s review, the audiobook version got super intense and was narrated well!
Welcome to 1962 New Orleans – Jemma is in her 20s and needs a change of pace from her life in Chicago. When a job opportunity presents itself, she jumps at it and moves down South. Her new job is working for the Duchon family, and things aren’t quite what they seem.
Cursed or not, I don’t think that I could spend TWENTY EIGHT YEARS in the same house with the same people with no reprieve. I’d probably lose my mind being stuck with my family in close proximity like that for so long. So, more power to Jemma for walking into that mess and taking this all head on. They’ve brought her there under false pretenses, and she quickly realizes that the gift she runs from might be her way out.
This book does address some hard topics – like racism, colorism, and slavery. I think that it is good to know for readers prior to starting! I loved the atmosphere and how it matched the sense of foreboding and dread that was slowly creeping in from start to finish. It’s an incredible debut, and it’s a must-read for those who love some southern gothic horror!
Jessicamap Reviews 