For(e) Closure

by Jude Nichols

When Carly is tasked with selling a house a woman was recently murdered in she does not shy away from the challenge. This grit, among other things, makes her Santa Rosa’s top Realtor four years running. But Carly quickly discovers there are more problems than leaky pipes and bad press with the property she linked herself to, the greatest of which being that the lady of the house remains.

The haunting of Carly begins the moment she enters the house as the door closes itself behind her, shutting her in. This is lost on Carly because she is already too engrossed in her mental checklist of updates to be done to the house. As Carly keeps herself busy, busy, busy, having light fixtures and tiles replaced, she doesn’t even notice she’s being gradually possessed. She does not think much of her sudden out of character cravings and interests. Like her urge to plant a garden despite her distaste for dirt and the outdoors. Or her desire to plunge into a pool she’d only ever sunbathed beside for decades, with a fresh blowout no less. Inclinations Alison, the woman haunting her, is impressing upon her as she moves deeper and deeper into her psyche. Who knew being a Realtor could be so dangerous?!

Unbeknownst to Carly or Alison the strings of fate have pulled them together for a reason, each of them in need of their own kind of closure. Alison, trapped between worlds, seeking redemption and Carly caught in an endless cycle of abuse from her neglectful stray cat of a mother who breezes in and out of her life like a hurricane wind. These two women are drawn to one another for they each hold something the other Carly with her ties to this world, and Alison with her ties to the next. If only they can find a way to meet in the middle without destroying one another in the process, they may just be able to set each other free.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2025

About the author

Jude Nichols is a writer and mother. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two young sons, the only woman and blonde in a pack of handsome redheads. Though she does have female company in her lovely black and white pup Bagel. Jude is a fan of and writer of dark(ish) domestic suspense. She writes and thinks about her novels while trapped in the school pickup line, on the soccer field sideline, and while stirring mac and cheese. Though she does not mine directly from her day to day, she is livin’ that mom life, and as they say, ‘write what you know.’ Jude truly appreciates each and every reader who takes a little break from their world to join one of her twisty, topsy-turvy fictional worlds.

Reviews

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! The style of writing is Liane Moriarity meets Stephen King!