The Hong Kong Widow

by Kristen Loesch

Hong Kong, 1953: In a remote mansion, witnesses insist a massacre took place. The police see nothing but pristine rooms and declare it a collective hallucination. Until decades later, when one witness returns…from the Edgar®-nominated author of The Last Russian Doll.

In 1950s Hong Kong, Mei is a young refugee of the Chinese Communist revolution struggling to put her past in Shanghai behind her. When she receives a shocking invitation—to take part in a competition pitting six spirit mediums against one another in a series of six séances over six nights, until a single winner emerges, in one of Hong Kong’s most notorious haunted houses—she has every reason to refuse. 

Except that the hostess, a former Shanghainese silent film star, is none other than the wife of the man who once destroyed Mei’s entire life.

It is promised the winner will receive a fortune, but there is only one prize Mei wants: revenge. 

Decades later, the final night of that competition has become an infamous urban legend: The police were called to the scene of a brutal massacre but found no evidence, dismissing it as a collective hallucination. Mei knows what she saw, but now someone else is convinced they know what she did. She must uncover the truth about that fateful night in the cursed house at last—even if the ghosts of her past are waiting for her there. . . .

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Thriller, China

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2025

About the author

Kristen Loesch grew up in San Francisco. She holds a BA in History, as well as a Master’s degree in Slavonic Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her first novel, The Last Russian Doll, was a finalist for the Edgar Award and has been published in twelve territories. She lives with her family in Switzerland.

Reviews

[Nancy (post-vacation catch up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

It didn’t actually take me more than a month to read this one, but life got busy and Libby rudely snatched it back when I was halfway through, forcing me to wait my turn yet again.

In 1953, police are called to investigate a massacre at a remote Hong Kong mansion. But when they arrive, there’s no trace of violence and no evidence that anything ever happened. The event is ultimately dismissed as a mass hallucination by the witnesses.

The Hong Kong Widow is a gothic historical mystery spanning 1937 - 2015 and unfolding across three timelines. It was quite different from anything I’ve read before. The story started a bit slow for me, but around the 25% mark things began to pick up. With numerous characters and multiple timelines, it was sometimes difficult to keep everything straight on audio, so I’d recommend reading it with your eyes rather than your ears. This one took a little patience, but once the story picked up, I found myself increasingly curious about how everything would come together.

[MarilynW · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch

I've read another book by Kristen Loesch that I enjoyed and I love historical fiction so I knew I wanted to read this story. I had to keep my thinking cap on the entire time because there are several timelines and many characters but I got so interested in just what was going on that I powered through the start of the book until I was so hooked I just had to have answers. Throughout the story there is turmoil, political turmoil, the disruption of new locations, feelings of abandonment and grief. Mei's life is unhappy and that unhappiness is laid across a landscape of death and destruction that cannot be stopped by individuals.

Seven year old Mei is taken from the only people she's ever known to live with other people, a new family of people who resent her and have expectations a little girl could never meet. Mei finds she not "alone" and it will be a while until she understands that she has a talent, or a curse, depending on how a person wants to see things. Mei has been told she's not smart but that isn't true and eventually someone very special to Mei is able to help her break through her reading barriers.

There are many betrayals, and whether it is through supernatural events or Mei's own detective skills, she is going to learn heartbreaking things that will cause her to hold revenge in her heart so tightly it overshadows her life. People want things from Mei and Mei can be destroyed by these wants. Because of Mei's talent, the pull for Mei comes from both the living and the dead.

It's because of something that happens in 1953 that fosters an anonymous rumor that Mei killed many people at a seance. Decades later, this brings Mei and her grown daughter back to the place of her growing up so that this rumor can be investigated and it is during this time that Mei gains more enlightenment to the past. This story is a horror story but some of the horror is the real life horror of how politics, war, and people one trusts can destroy even more viciously than imaginary monsters.

Even though the timelines and going back and forth could have confused me, I wanted so much to understand what Mei had been through that I was able to hang on to the strands between each timeline. I became very attached to Mei and felt for her as she realized the hateful, revengeful things in her heart were due to all that had happened in the past. This is a woman who has a chance to make things right and I was ready to stand behind Mei the entire time.

This is an impossible book to describe but it worked well for me. The historical parts of the story are a real life horror story all on their own, especially if you know the history of this time and place. Who needs monsters when living, breathing humans are killing all those around you. But Mei has to let go of some of what is inside of her in order to free herself of internal monsters and she will try to help her daughter to find her way through grief, too.

Pub October 7, 2025

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley, Elisha, and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last author who made me feel this off-kilter after finishing one of their books was Catriona Ward, so kudos to Kristen Loesch for playing pinball with my head so successfully for the last few days. I hope it was fun up there!

Ultra-brief synopsis: a Chinese woman living in Hong Kong named Mei with a gift of the “Sight” is seen as a young girl, a young woman and an older woman in alternating chapters trying to grapple with the events of her past. From a young age her gift has enabled her to see ghosts - some of whom she knows and some she doesn't. In the past she was invited as one of six mediums to attend a competition at a haunted mansion that ended badly. Decades later, she's now trying to make sense of that night and the bigger picture of her life.

I’m so glad I stuck with this book. I was considering DNF’ing after the first 25% because it had three timelines going and I couldn’t make much sense of any of them, in addition to it being very slow. My advice: Don’t read the blurb. At least not for the U.S. version. It says way too much yet still somehow gave me the wrong impression of what I’d be reading.

What I thought I’d be reading was a creepy ghost story with a continual sense of supernatural menace centered on a long-ago massacre. I thought it would stay more consistently in the lane of horror. What I got was a historical fiction/mystery/drama with sprinkles of supernatural horror throughout set in the time of the Japanese invasion of China beginning in 1937, the fictional tragic competition in 1953, and an investigation into that event in 2015.

Don’t get me wrong - the creepy ghosts, supernatural menace and horror were there, but it was dabbled between an unexpectedly emotional story about life. I was expecting literal and what I got was more metaphorical in the end.

So you must think I’d be disappointed. Quite the contrary! Sometimes what you think you want and what you unexpectedly end up enjoying are two different things! I won’t say too much, other than to say that the ghosts in this story serve a purpose beyond just being there to creep you out and I think it’s truly worth finding out why.

If you want a ghost story that leaves you with some deeper things to think about, I highly recommend this. Don’t read the author’s note ahead of time, but DO read it after. It’s very insightful!

★★★★

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Kristen Loesch for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published on October 7, 2025.

[Teres [on hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohmygosh, what a way to kick off the New Year. °🥂⋆. ೃ🍾࿔*:･

So unexpected. SO good.

The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch is a richly layered historical gothic thriller.

The story opens with 85-year-old Mei being interviewed by her daughter, Susanna, a true-crime writer.

Susanna is determined to uncover the truth behind the infamous Maidenhair House massacre in 1953 Hong Kong — a mystery shrouded in urban legend — and...wait for it...involving her own Mama.

You see, Mei has the gift of Sight. In other words, she sees dead people. 👀

Back in 1953, six mediums are summoned to Maidenhair House for a week-long series of séances and to compete for a prize by contacting the spirits that haunt the mansion.

The rules are simple: after each séance, one medium is eliminated, either by choice or by force.

Yep, you guessed it: Mama Mei is one of those mediums.

What transpires in the mysterious Maidenhair House, owned by George Maidenhair, once Mei's mentor, patron, and surrogate father?

I'm not telling, but...

At 85, Mei returns to Hong Kong, along with Susanna, to discover the truth about that fateful night.

Ghosts — both literal and metaphorical —have followed Mei across continents and decades.

Her journey to Hong Kong is as much about confronting personal demons as it is about solving a historical mystery.

The nonlinear structure of the novel unfolds throughout three periods of time: Mai's childhood in 1930s rural China and as a young refugee during the Communist Revolution in war-torn Shanghai; her life in Hong Kong, post World War II; and the present day investigation with her daughter.

Maidenhair House is more than just a setting of labyrinthine architecture with hidden rooms — it is a living, breathing entity that absorbs and reflects the fears, desires, and histories of its inhabitants.

The atmosphere that Loesch crafts is dark, foreboding, mysterious, and harrowing.

Its nonlinear structure, intergenerational cast, and use of art and letters as plot devices, makes The Hong Kong Widow an intriguing tale of historical fiction and mystery, blended with gothic horror.

Absolutely recommend.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title/Author: The Hong Kong Widow
Format Read: NetGalley/Audio
Pub date: October 7th, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Page Count: 368
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059354...
Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- Historical horror/Hong Kong/1950s
- séances/haunted houses/exorcisms/possession
- revenge plot
- brutal massacre with one survivor/mystery
- Dual narratives
- Cinematic/Competition
-True Crime Writer/investigator
-"I see dead people" trope
__
Minor complaints:
- The past timeline was stronger than the modern one and I didn't enjoy switching back and forth.

Final recommendation: 
This book was fine, it kept my interest but I found one of the timelines a little lackluster and I trudged through it. A bit slow for me but I loved the premise with the séance competition and the final showdown, an exorcism. I enjoyed some of the reveals in Part 4 and 5--a little seasoning added that I wasn't expecting. I think I just wanted more from this book
Comps: House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama, The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang, The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I loved the cultural elements of this novel which were easily my favourite aspects. In terms of the horror, this one felt fairly straightforward and predictable. Without the setting aspect, I'm not certain this one would have stood on it's own but I overall enjoyed this one for those cultural elements.

I would recommend this one for readers who are also seeking dark thrillers and horror novels set outside of the usual western countries.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Sue Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for an advanced copy of this breathtaking novel which will continue to haunt me for a very long time.
“One of those books where you wish you were already at the end when you begin, because you want to know it, and then you’d wish you were back at the beginning when you end, because you want to experience it all over again.”
A quote from the book, describing perfectly how The Hong Kong Widow made me feel.
It is a haunting tale propelled by internal and external forces, at times making my heart beat faster, at others utterly heartbreaking. The plot is pacy, raising a further question each time one is answered, which kept me up reading long after I should have been asleep.
Mei is our main character, taken from her home in Jiangsu Province to live in Shanghai with strangers when she was just seven years old. She lives through the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the Pacific War and the Chinese Communist revolution, finding ways to cope through and with her loss.
The author effectively employs three timelines to tell this story – the earliest shows Mei growing up, the
second covers an event in Mei’s life which results in a horrific outcome which leaves the police bewildered.
The third timeline shows Mei, now an old woman of 85, helping her daughter discover the truth behind a mystery her dead husband had been desperate to solve. In helping her daughter, Mei considers the nature of their relationship and is able to learn from that too.
The prose is magical, each paragraph a beautifully wrapped gift which deserves to be lingered over. And the ending is full of hope.
I absolutely adored this book.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I feel like the publisher description failed to capture how multigenre and layered this book was. It was the perfect blend of historical fiction, multicultural interest, mystery and paranormal. All parts were equally balanced creating a near perfect Gothic tale that spanned three timelines in Hong Kong.

1936 - Mae, 9 years old, is shipped to her "uncle's" home to live with his three wives, after her mother mysteriously disappears. War against the Japanese is in progress and her village is not safe. She leaves behind her two older sisters and father to become 1st Wife's adopted daughter.
1953- Mae, 26 years old, is invited to return to the home she once lived that is rumored to be haunted. Mae is one of several mediums invited to participate in a contest to expel the resident ghosts.
2015 - Mae's adult daughter has recently lost her husband and wants to complete a documentary about the haunted house her mother infamously survived but was rumored to have murdered others in. Mae returns to her old home in Hong Kong with her daughter to protect her as she knows what lives there.

All three timelines were equally addictive and brought in different layers to the plot. There was history about WW2 and China. The ruin and destruction that befell the Chinese people. There was a central mystery about what happened to Mae's mother. There were fascinating Chinese historical and cultural elements. And there was a paranormal aspect involving mediums and ghosts. I loved every bit of it!!

The lyrical prose swept me in and the atmospheric descriptions built a fully realized world in my mind. I could visualize every detail. Although multilayered with a lot going on (so many secrets and nuances), and many characters, the author executed it immaculately and developed the characters beautifully, especially Mae.

My only tiny drawback was that I got lost a couple of times in the complexity of the different plot arcs but would find my footing again. This audiobook was a pleasant surprise !

[Stacia · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Shattering. Spellbinding. I was glued to the story & raced through it in a day.

[melhara · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

2.5/5

There were definitely elements in this book that I enjoyed (Max, the creepy art scattered throughout this book, and the WWII setting in Shanghai), but this just wasn't the book for me.

Set in alternating timeframes, jumping back and forth between 2015 (when the main character is 85 years old), 1953 (23 years old), and 1937 to 1947 (7 to 17 years old), we follow Mei's life and her connection to the mysterious and haunted Maidenhair House.

"For six nights
For six séances
In six different locations within Maidenhair or upon its ground.
You are one of six spirit mediums whose presence I hope to secure for this occasion. One of you will be asked to leave Maidenhair after every séance, until there is only one remaining.
The final session will be an exorcism..."

This was an eerie and haunting story centred around Mei's ability to see spirits and how she uses her abilities at different stages of her life. We experience how her gift of Sight has impacted her childhood, especially while growing up during WWII; later on, she uses her abilities to conduct séances at Maidenhair House, which led to a mysterious, disastrous, and unsolvable murder case; and finally, when she returned to Maidenhair House 60 years later to solve the mystery of the massacre that occured at the place.

This was a slow-moving novel that was beautifully written. The prose was great, but I felt the plot and mystery were rather underwhelming. I was expecting more from the paranormal aspects of the story.

**I received a free physical copy of the book from the publisher for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.**

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of "The Hong Kong Widow" but the novel ultimately fell short of my expectations.

The ghost element was interesting at first, but its execution, especially in the present-day timeline, was rather weird and didn't make a lot of sense. The revenge storyline also didn't really work for me.

[Haileyyjk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me in a chokehold the entire time!!

[Olesya Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my endorsement!: “THE HONG KONG WIDOW is at once an eerie haunted house gothic and a deeply profound meditation on mothers and daughters, the mysteries we end up keeping from each other, and the healing power of empathy and togetherness as a way of confronting — and laying to rest — the ghosts of a painful past. Stunning prose, impeccable historical research, and page turning suspense. I absolutely devoured this book.”

— Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, Author of The Haunting of Moscow House

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 This book is a mixture of many things. It is creepy at times like the movies the Grudge and the Ring. It is sad, sentimental, touching and confusing. It needs a character list. Sometimes I found it difficult to follow as it jumps around in time. Reading other fast track books at the same time did not help me with continuity so I recommend reading this continuously if you choose to read it. Very different and I liked the ending.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest I had no idea what's to believe throughout most of this book, lol. It was a good ghost story though and I definitely suggest reading the author note at the end (after you finish the book, as it contains spoilers) . This book has some really good creepiness to it that is perfect for the spooky season.

[Jaksen]

DNF. Not for me.

For one thing: it's the way the material is presented which bugged me. Jumping around in time. Various characters overlapping - mother, daughter, grandmother? I can deal with non-linear stories, but when I am constantly going back pages to see whose head I am in...

It's the story of a woman who writes non-fiction who wants to know the truth/the whole story behind a possible massacre at a Hong Kong mansion back in the past- so there she goes, off to Hong Kong. And with her grandmother who is/was a key player in the whole darn thing! Does said grandma say a word about what REALLY happened? Of course not.

Now books often contain secrets - held by the MC, held by other characters - which are leaked out slowly over the course of the book. Yep, this happens. But if one character know a secret and is deliberately holding out - to another character - and it just drags and drags and drags - I get frustrated. (Not engaged, mind you: just frustrated.)

Not a fan of that way of story-telling. My fav. is to be WITH the MC - or multiple characters - as they try to unravel something. In other words, when they learn it - I learn it. It keeps me firmly embedded in the story. I know thrillers and mysteries are often written like this and if it becomes overbearing - a constant reminder of we know this and you don't know that - it just puts me off.

But for those love this book and this kind of story, read on!

DNF

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hong Kong Widow is a sinister triple timeline story that explores the childhood, young adult, and modern-day experiences of an elderly Chinese woman with secrets in her Hong Kong past. Part ghost story, part exploration in grief, and part family mystery, this book has just the right sparkle of supernatural to make this historical fiction satisfying for both mystery and horror lovers alike. Gothic feels abound!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Janereads10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six nights. Six mediums. One house that whispers secrets darker than blood.

In the turbulent landscape of 1950s Hong Kong, Kristen Loesch weaves a mesmerizing narrative that blends historical drama with supernatural intrigue. This novel transcends traditional storytelling, exploring a refugee’s quest for revenge and redemption.

At its heart is Mei, a young woman caught in an extraordinary competition: six spirit mediums, six nights, one notorious haunted house. Her true prize isn’t the promised fortune, but revenge against the wife of the man who destroyed her life.

Loesch’s narrative brilliance emerges through a multi-layered approach, presenting Mei across three pivotal timelines. We witness her transformation from a child searching for her mother to a teenager navigating profound loss, and finally to an older woman confronting her haunting past.

The setting breathes with authenticity, a decaying manor that becomes a character in its own right. Mei’s journey reveals layers of trauma, survival, and the enduring power of memory, blurring lines between personal history and broader historical wounds.

Unexpected narrative twists elevate the story, with Loesch dropping bombshells that resonate like aftershocks. The supernatural elements blend seamlessly with historical context, creating a reading experience both intellectually stimulating and emotionally profound.

For readers craving ghost stories with substance, “The Hong Kong Widow” offers an unforgettable exploration of memory, revenge, and the spirits that never truly release their grip.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this advance review copy. My thoughts remain entirely my own.

[Victoria Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow.

I love stories that make you think. The twists and turns really got me and I never saw them coming. I feel so bad for Mei. She had a very rough life and it was at times difficult to read. The drawings in the book freaked me out but I loved that they were included because it helped me make sense of everything at the end.

My favorite quote was, “Time passes and Mei reads and reads. She would love to go back to the very start, but you can never go back to the very start.” There were other quotes similar to this.
It reminded me of two things:
1. the loss you feel after reading such a great book and that you can never go back to before you read the book to enjoy it a second time.
2. The fact that you can’t change your past. You just have to go forward.
The epilogue explained this beautifully. My flabbers were gasted. I also felt a bit triggered not going to lie because I too at times live in the past. Mei says that you are supposed to step over the parts of yourself that want to stay rooted in grief and trauma and move forward 😭

I hope to find another book that captivates me as much as this one.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, rich, and twisty!

The Hong Kong Widow is a mysterious, gripping tale that sweeps you between the 1940s, 1950s, and 2015, and into the lives of Mei and her daughter Susanna as they journey to China to uncover what truly happened all those years ago, when a massacre and a series of bizarre occurrences haunted the halls of Maidenhair Mansion.

The prose is taut and gritty. The characters are multilayered, secretive, flawed, and determined. And the plot unravels quickly into a menacing tale of life, loss, tragedy, desperation, deceit, manipulation, family drama, buried secrets, heartbreak, and the supernatural.

Overall, The Hong Kong Widow is an ominous, atmospheric, sophisticated read by Loesch that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical events and compelling fiction into a suspenseful mystery that is not only deliciously eerie but utterly engrossing.

[Lata · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Mei, the central character of this creepy story, is a sympathetic character; she has the Sight, and is able to see ghosts. She grows up mostly disliked, and as a young woman, is invited, as one of six mediums, to perform seances at a mansion. Terrible things happen, and Mei is left traumatized. Years later, she returns to Hong Kong.

Spanning from 1937 to 2015, "The Hong Kong Widow" deals with murder, an unexplained massacre at a Hong Kong mansion in 1953, and the continued questions that exist decades later when Mei, whose life has been tied to that mansion, begins to investigate what really happened in 1953.

The jumping from one timeline to the other was sometimes confusing, but I still enjoyed this gothic novel.

[Kiki · Rating 0.5 out of 5]

DNF. A revolting book that claims to speak to my culture but is really designed exclusively for the Western gaze, written by an author steeped in Western culture and values. It’s kind of gross that she holds the exact brand of Western arrogance and ignorance towards China and yet tries her hardest to cash in on her distant Chinese heritage, all the while doing so without ever having understood it beyond abstract symbolism. The characters float without cultural grounding, historical references are shallow and instrumental, and the overall story shows very little familiarity with the customs, socio-political nuances, or collective psychology of the Chinese people involved.

[Rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really liked this! it was very spooky! i think that the interweaving of the different timelines/hauntings was a BIT clumsily done! this could have been really really great for me and instead it was just very good which, like, is not an indictment against the book - i had a good time reading this! i just wish it had done a little more.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at this twisty tale.

I read the author's other book, so I expected something a bit twisty with an ending I didn't quite see coming. With this book, I certainly got it.

A lot of reviews are thrown off by the three various time periods told through the story, since you have to know all three time periods in order for the story and the conclusion to make sense. You also have to be open to the idea of ghosts and possession, since that also plays a part in the story.

The interesting part of the story is how fate and the supernatural are tied to one another, and how grief could also weigh into that aspect as well. My favorite time period of the story was the 'actual incident' and what happened that night and the outcome that would shape the future which is how our story begins.

The reason I did rate it down a star is that when presented chronologically, and after sitting through the entire book, the story isn't all that strong, but the way the author framed / told the book the creepy aspect comes from that - you don't know what happened that night and to understand why and the outcome you have to see the book out through the end.

[Lese lust · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gemischte Gefühle...
immer wieder interessante Passagen, dann wieder Geistergeschichten,
.. und eine Auflösung, die so wenig nachhaltig war, dass ich sie sofort wieder vergessen habe

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly confusing, but still fascinating novel that had me second guessing every twist and turn of it. You can tell that the author heavily researched for this novel, and it shows, in all the best ways. I’m definitely going to follow Loesch, and will wait impatiently for her next novel. This is an author we should all keep our eyes on, in the future.

Annie Q. Riegel is the talented narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Her ability to handle this huge cast of characters, their many accents and dialects, and their voice characterizations is impeccable. I hope that in the future, Books On Tape, and other audiobook publishers continue to use the hell out of her many talents, and soon! My library only has 3 of her audiobooks available, BOO.

3.5 stars, rounded upwards because gr doesn’t do halfsies.

[Mary Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give this story 5 stars. It was an excellent mystery wrapped within a ghost story. My two favorite genres!

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has to be one of the best books i have read in a while.

it did not lie when it said that there would be lots of twists. even with the smallest or what you would call the most obvious outcomes i still got shocked.

slow start but gets really good as you continue reading it. love the different time changes as well because they end up connecting everything together .

[Rachel Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect spookiness, absolutely loved the descriptions of the ghosts. Some of the plot choices just didn’t make sense, would probably rate 3.75 ⭐️

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book club read- tbh this is not in my typical wheelhouse but is def the best written book I’ve read in a long time. The authors use of imagery was unparalleled. Despite the timeline changes it was easy to follow. I enjoyed that the author made the reader work to truly understand the depth of the book- I thought it was interesting that most of us book club members had a different take away for the “purpose” of the story. This was also the scariest book I’ve ever read n none of us could read it at night lol.