The Curse of Hester Gardens

by Tamika Thompson

We Need to Talk about Kevin as if written by Jason Reynolds and Tananarive Due meets Model Home by Rivers Solomon in an innovative twist on the haunted house about a mother desperate to protect her sons from the twin specters of gun violence and otherworldly menace in their public housing project.

Nona McKinley raised three boys in the Hester Gardens section of Medford, Michigan, an impoverished community divided by those who follow their faith in God and those who turn to crime to survive. With her drug dealer husband behind bars and her eldest son shot to death at eighteen, Nona has devoted herself to ensuring her other children escape their brother’s fate.

Her second son Marcus is on the right path. He's a valedictorian heading to an Ivy League school. He can get out.

But then, strange things start happening to Nona and other mysterious footsteps are heard when she’s alone, people have phantom encounters in the streets, unattended appliances go off at all hours. Even more concerning is the state of Nona’s living sons. Her youngest, Lance, is hanging around with a bad crowd, and Marcus becomes moody and secretive. Sometimes he even seems to act like a different person entirely.

Nona has her secrets too. Her affair with the married church pastor has been weighing on her conscience, but that’s not the only guilt haunting her. She fears that someone—or something— is seeking revenge for an act she made in a moment of weakness to protect her family. And now everyone in Hester Gardens must pay the price...

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Horror Thriller

448 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 31, 2026

Reviews

[Jamie]

DNF'ing @ 35%. It's not you, book, it's me. This is a well-written novel but it's depressing … so, so depressing. There's certainly some supernatural horror to be found within these pages, but so far most of the narrative has been focused on the horrors of life in the projects — poverty and gun violence are constant themes. And, while this is a thought-provoking story, it's just too much for me at present moment. With everything that's currently going on in the United States, I kind of need to leave the social horror in real life for a bit. I'd like to come back to this one at some point, but for now I'm going to go read a light, fluffy novel about four women who find friendship and romance in a medieval Italian castle. Thompson is an extremely talented writer, however, so if you're less emotionally exhausted than I am, definitely consider giving The Curse of Hester Gardens a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is March 31, 2026.

[Adam Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book. It’s brilliant, it’s horrifying, it’s devastating, this should be a literary event. Finding a book like this is why I read in the first place. The story of a mother trying to navigate raising three sons in a housing project haunted both figuratively and literally by the violence and history there. This book packs such an emotional punch while being extremely readable and entertaining at the same time. By the final act, I spent the entire time reading in tears from the emotional truths it contains, and how infuriating it is that these things are in fact true.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Not quite what I expected, but I still enjoyed the story and characters. I would have preferred more of an emphasis on the supernatural side of the story, but I found the sort of social commentary engaging and horrific in a different way.

[Emily C. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, heartbreaking, and deeply moving. Loved this.

[Mac S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book (expected publication date of March 31st, 2026) in exchange for my honest feedback!

In Hester Gardens, a public housing project in Medford, Michigan, those who die at the hand of gang violence don’t move on peacefully, but instead haunt the projects that wronged them both in life and in death.

Nona, a woman of faith, was never dealt an easy hand. She and her husband never planned on staying in the projects permanently. But neither of their jobs paid enough for them to afford a house in a safer neighborhood. She always thought there would be more time. But when her husband is locked up, and her eldest son is senselessly and brutally killed, it is clear she waited too long to escape.

Her middle son, Marcus, is so close to leaving Hester Gardens behind and making a better life for himself. He is valedictorian of his high school class, and heading to an Ivy League school in the fall. So why doesn’t Nona recognize him anymore? He’s more angry than he’s ever been, he’s constantly lying to her and staying out later than agreed upon, and he hardly seems like he’s getting ready to move into his college dorm.

This book is a brutal dissection of system inequities that contribute to gang violence, life in the projects, and what a mother must do to protect her children and put food on the table. And no matter how hard Nona works to build a better life for her children, outside forces always seem to conspire against them, be it the local gangs taunting her middle son and actively recruiting her youngest son, a constant onslaught of shootings in the news, or the presence she is certain is there in the shadows of her home even though her door is always locked.

This is not a light read. This book has graphic descriptions of gun violence, and details so many ways life is stacked against impoverished Black people in America. Nona is resilient, because she has to be. She has nobody else to fall back on. Her parents are dead, her husband is in jail, her neighbors’ kids are in the local gang, the police are more interested in punishing young poor Black men than helping them. This harrowing book shows just how far she must go in order to procure a better life for her children.

The book was incredibly well crafted. Each character was unique and advanced the story. The plot itself was never lagging, and was generally without unnecessary distraction. However, one element was rather… Odd. Based on both the way Vega was written and how the spirits were described, I was sure it was going to be revealed that she herself was a ghost haunting Hester Gardens. Every scene with her only made me more positive. I won’t say I’m disappointed that I was wrong, but many of the details describing her seem so out of place now.

This book tackles racial and economic disparities in America in a poignant and powerful manner. The horror elements do not overshadow the trauma of poverty, but rather highlight it well to make its point.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so lets start with the comparisons to: Jason Reynolds, Tananarive Due and Rivers Solomon. I mean, if Black writers who talk about racism is your only touchpoint, sure. Otherwise, the book did not remind me of any of those authors. It kind of felt like the editor/publisher just threw a few popular Black names in there without ever actually having read their books. It ABSOLUTELY reminded me of We Need to Talk about Kevin.

In The Curse of Hester Gardens, Tamika Thompson gives us a horror story full of grief, bad decisions, and absolute terror. Rather than your classic haunted house story that takes place in a small town with naive new homeowners feeling out of their elements, the author brings us smack dab into a poverty-stricken housing development. You know how in a normal haunted house story you wonder why the characters don't just leave? Here, they can't. These folks have nothing. Many have no jobs at all. They live in roach-infested homes surrounded by people who will do anything they need to just to survive. Gangs, drugs, it's all there.

The only ways out are prison or death...and neither really gets you out.

Nona, our main character, was stressful for me. She's a mother who is trying everything she can to get her sons out of this development and into a safe space. She's already lost one son due to horrific violence and is terrified for her other children. But...she doesn't make good decisions. Her relationship was the most irritating thing for me. It was all kinds of wrong in so many ways and I just wanted her to pay more attention to her children and all the horrors around her than to...that.

That being said, the book is good. It's tragic - so tragic - and it will make you feel all the bad things. And be warned - the real life horrors in the book just might overshadow the supernatural ones!

A good read.

[Alicia Ceasar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson is a horror book that follows Nona, a mother who witnesses a horrific crime and finds that it continues to haunt her years later.

I don’t even know how to be normal about this book. I feel like once a year, I read a random book that I requested an arc of only to be absolutely blown away. This book got under my skin and made me feel so many emotions. There were times that I had to put it down because I was feeling physically sick. If that doesn’t make a book truly horrific, I don’t know what would.

This book is very emotional. There are a lot of discussions of grief from different characters and how they all react differently to it. There is a supernatural element going on that really ramps up the emotional impact as well. But more than that, this book dives deep into topics like poverty, cycles of violence, motherhood, and racism.

I feel like one of the greatest things this book does is made me sit with my thoughts about a lot of these topics. This book is a little in the longer side which I know won’t work for everyone but for me, that made me sit in this story for longer. It made me become more attached to the characters and it made their actions hit harder. I was genuinely so connected to the stories of the characters in this book and reading about how bad things seemed to keep happening really affected me.

There are some things in this novel that felt like the resonated with me on a personal level because of things that have happened in my own life so I think I had no choice but to love this book.

This is a favorite book of the year. Probably a favorite book of all time and I’m so glad I got to read it.

[Maria Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance reading copy of this novel, and it is an utterly compelling and wrenching supernatural tale, set in a public housing project. Thompson gives us not just a haunted house but a haunted neighborhood. In Hester Gardens, the restless spirits of those who died violently linger in homes, streets, and alleyways, haunting, and hurting, the living. I especially loved the main character, Nona, a mom who is deeply flawed, but who tries to keep her sons safe, and eventually also tries to atone for her own actions in the past. Thompson handles the balance between real-world horrors (crime, gun violence, systemic racism, poverty); and the otherworldly menace with compelling skill. There’s an almost Shakespearean tilt to the tragedy that plays out here, in a place where secrets, lies, and ghosts tug and tear at people’s lives.

[Tonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tied in the poverty struggles and faith struggles in the black community. The biggest light of what a mother goes through to keep her children safe. Nona fought tooth and nail to see her boys through the struggles of poverty. After becoming a single mother to three boys, watching her original dreams for them crumble one after another still she kept fighting. She had to look at things differently, go outside of who the root of who she was and question her faith to free her boys. Turning left and right for help from those around her until finally she realized she had to be the one to find them a way out putting them before anything. She had to realize that she was the one that held the power. Interesting read enjoyed the complexities and underlying messages. I do wish the ending was a little different.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to Hester Gardens - a public housing project where your past is staring you in the face.

Where violence is like an infection. Where the murdered don't know how to leave. Where the gun violence is a public health crisis.

This book is not just another horror-story - it's so much more. It's a daring comment about gun violence and segregation written with a pen that burns the story to your soul.

I most highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and EREWHON BOOKS published by Kensington Publishing Corp for the e-ARC.

[Laura Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you GoodReads and Tamika Thompson for the giveaway! ✨ Was so excited to recieve and read!

This book definitely will get you in your feelings about the situations ongoing in our society that lead to poverty, gun violence, and how difficult it can to be overcome.
Mix that in with a family doing their best to move forward and grow while dealing with a supernatural presence that isn’t helping matters in the least. 👻
Chills definitely ran down my spine and my heart ached for the character’s plight. Will definitely be picking up some of Tamika Thompson’s other books. 📚

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy from Goodreads giveaways and I couldn’t wait to dive in. It turned out to be unlike any horror I’ve read. Most of the horror stemmed from devastating realities experienced by a web of characters. The author created a world where you felt the grief, the love, the vengeance, and the guilt - all while making you second guess a shadow in the corner of your room. The ending solidified Tamika Thompson as a horror author. Diabolical.

[Walena Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I can identity with the characters of this book. I was sad, scared, frustrated, so many feelings. It was interesting how the author used ghosts to represent the injustice and neglect that happens in impoverished and low income neighborhoods. I loved the representation of the curse was used. I got anxious at the end. Awesome read.

[From The Reader’s Nest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrecked. Absolutely wrecked.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning! A book that should be required reading! Heartbreaking and thought provoking all at once, it’s not a book you can forget about.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tragic story on many levels, I have mixed feelings about this book. It is a well crafted "horror" story but if it was about 100 pages shorter, with less political messaging, I would have enjoyed it more. {A}