Accumulation

by Aimee Pokwatka

A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted.

When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young children begin acting out in strange ways. Even if she feels lonelier than ever.

Distracted by the endless details that come with moving into a new town, a new house, and new schools, Tenn doesn’t notice when odd things begin happening at home. The faucet that runs at all hours. The creepy doll that seems to show up in every room. The human tooth they found in the floorboards.

As the kids’ outbursts and the strange events start to escalate, the family finds themselves increasingly caught in loops, repeating everyday actions with dangerous—and then devastating—effects. Tenn realizes she must find the source of what is haunting her family, before it kills them all.

Taut and twisty, scary and searing, Aimee Pokwatka’s Accumulation lays bare the high price women pay for the promises of domesticity and motherhood, and the many ways in which families can be haunted.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Paranormal, Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, Halloween

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2026

About the author

Aimee Pokwatka is the author of the novels Self-Portrait with Nothing and The Parliament. Born and raised in West Virginia, she studied anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and received her MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University. Her third novel, Accumulation, will be published in May 2026. She lives in New York with her family.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I’m really conflicted on how to rate this one because the beginning completely pulled me in. The atmosphere and setup were strong, and for a while I thought this was going to be a standout read. But as the story progressed, it slowly started losing its grip on me.

There were a lot of different ideas and themes packed into the story, but most of them never felt fully fleshed out. It seemed like the book kept introducing compelling threads (and characters) only to leave them hanging or move on too quickly. One of the most interesting plot developments ended with barely any payoff, and while I understood the purpose behind the repetitive nature of the narrative, it became so excessive that it started draining the tension instead of building it.

The ending itself wasn’t terrible, but it felt oddly abrupt and lacked the emotional or narrative impact I was expecting after such a promising start. Overall, I didn’t dislike this book, but it felt like it was juggling too many things without fully committing to any of them. I tend to run into this issue fairly often with horror novels, where the buildup is fantastic but the resolution never quite delivers in the same way. It definitely was still a quick and engaging read though!

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final rating: 3.5 stars
Title/Author: ACCUMULATION by Aimee Pokwatka

Format Read: NetGalley ebook (Thank you to the publisher for sending me a FREE final copy)

Pub date: May 5, 2026

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Page Count: 336

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/979821704...

Recommended for readers who enjoy:

Haunted house tropes

Marriage/Domestic drama/Parenting

Unreliable narrator/Mental health

Creepy kid stuff

Ghosts/Hauntings/Paranormal activity

Motherhood/The balance of career and stay-at-home mom life/Loneliness/resentment

SYNOPSIS: A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted.

__

Minor complaints:

The ending and the reveal or causation behind the whole conflict, left a little something to be desired. I feel like it either wasn't developed enough or just felt off--not really sure what the issue is with it, I just know it didn't feel "right" or satisfying

I'm not a reader who needs likable characters. I love flawed people in my horror, but these two were not great parents and it was a little hard to witness

Also, like with most haunted house stories, there is always that lingering question in the back of your mind, "Why don't they leave?" I feel like some storytellers/directors are able to minimize the noise of that burning question, while others only make it louder-this book made it louder

Final recommendation: Accumulation joins other books that center a dysfunctional marriage and a move to a new house with the hopes that this major (and stressful) change will "fix" or solve their problems. It's a trope that never bores me. I love a haunted house as a metaphor for marital trauma. There is an underlying essence of The Yellow Wallpaper as well. The narrator, Tenn is whisked off to her "dream home" by her husband, Walt as a way to appease her restlessness--his job is taking off and requiring more of his time away from home, while her filmmaking has taken a back seat so that she can stay home with the children. Happy wife, happy life--right? Not so much. The house is very needy and whatever is going on with Tenn can't be fixed so easily. The way the children behave in the house and at school, was probably my favorite part. 3.5 stars

Comps: Essence of The Yellow Wallpaper, The Grip of It /Jac Jemc, We Live Here Now/Sarah Pinborough, Cunning Folk by Adam Nevill, A Good House for Children/Kate Collins, How to Fake a Haunting/Christa Carmen, The September House/Carissa Orlando, This House Isn't Haunted But We Are/Stephen Howard, Ghost Mother/Kelly Dwyer

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Accumulation follows Tennessee Cherish, who goes by Tenn, and her family; husband, Ward and their two children, Anders and Aisling. They also have an adorable dog, Gogo, who makes frequent appearances throughout the book.

Though she had some early success as a documentary filmmaker, by the time we meet her, Tenn is a stay-at-home Mom, a role shift she continually grapples with over the course of the story.



The family has just moved from North Carolina to New York state after Ward buys Tenn her dream home. The historic home is larger than anywhere they've ever lived, and the large property provides plenty of room for the active family to spread out.

It's a huge move though, and both children begin acting strangely. Tenn assumes it's the move throwing them off, but with Ward working around the clock, she feels very unsupported trying to deal with it all.

Other very bizarre things are taking place within the home, but Tenn's so distracted just trying to get them all on track after the move that she hardly notices. That is until the disturbing occurrences turn dangerous. Soon Tenn feels like she's fighting for her life and that of her family.



She needs to figure out what's haunting this house, what's haunting her, if she wants to stand a chance of protecting her sanity, and keeping her family together.

Accumulation had me gripped for the vast majority of the book. I found everything happening in the house to be fascinating. Additionally, I enjoyed Tenn's perspective. I found it refreshing that she wasn't your stereotypical, cookie-cutter, fictional Mom.

The set-up was giving me Amityville Horror vibes, the 2005 movie remake, starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George, specifically. I certainly wasn't mad about that.



The young couple and their beautiful children moving into a historic home in New York. The unsettling little things kicking off pretty quickly. There's a creepy doll, a babysitter scene, and a lot involving the attic. It was all so well done.

The vibes were solid, and I'm nothing if not an atmosphere girlie. I anticipated rating this very highly. I was completely invested, even getting angry at Ward's behavior and her overall circumstances on Tenn's behalf. Who was moving that doll around?



Unfortunately, the last 10% sucked that enthusiasm down a couple notches, and though I was sad about it initially, I know it's just a personal taste issue.

If I had my way, the concluding scenes wouldn't have wrapped up quite so quickly, or easily, after that nail-biting build. Nevertheless, for the majority of the book I was at the edge of my seat and loving the exploration of domesticity and motherhood.

Nevertheless, I would absolutely recommend this to Horror Readers who are atmosphere and vibes Readers like myself. Also, if you want a slightly different take on a haunted house, I feel like this would scratch that itch.



Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoyed Pokwatka's character work and concepts. I'm looking forward to reading more from her in the future!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published May 5, 2026.

3.5 stars

I have a hard time with stories where spouses are lying to each other about dumb stuff. Tennessee was once a documentary filmmaker, now she’s a homemaker and she, Ward and their two children Anders and Ainsley have just moved from North Carolina to New York (never a good idea) for Ward’s fancy, demanding new job. They’ve moved into what is meant to be Tenn’s dream house but it quickly becomes clear there’s something wrong there; a doll that keeps appearing, strange things happening with the kids, a faucet that won’t turn off. And then things get worse.

The author does a good job with the sense of menace and dread, but I really did not, at all, understand the end of the book, which I kind of feel like was the whole point. So, I feel like giving that extra half star was generous. But I’m a giver.

[Matt Milu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that ghosts were like the Kardashians and craved camera time? What a mysterious and creative take on apparitions and possessions! 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

[Susan Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ward buys his wife, Tennessee (Tenn) her "dream house" in New York, a big move from their quaint home in North Carolina. Very early on, the couple discover a creepy doll. What begins as a joke turns into the unexplained. That seems to be only the beginning of a series of unsettling, and often repeating events in a series of time loops.

The good: I was intrigued and on edge for the first half of the book. It was an interesting premise/take on the old standard haunted house trope. It was legitimately creepy and made me uncomfortable in my own home. The story had a larger overarching theme regarding the expectations and burdens of women/mothers who shoulder the majority of responsibility within the family, often without the recognition or respect they deserve.

The not so good: While the time loop element was intentional and understandable, the book began to really drag in the final third and felt significantly longer than 336 pages. Ward's (the husband) career was a large part of what prompted the move and kept him away from the family, making him unreachable for long stretches of time, wasn't explored as well as it could have been. There are some changes in point of view where we are hearing from Ward, but they were few and jarring when they did occur. The marriage between Ward and Tenn as we are first introduced is full of passion and love, but we really get very little insight into backstory there either. Overall, I think less repetition and more explanation would have been beneficial. The worst offense for me though was the ridiculously long chapters. That coupled with the repetitiveness made it difficult to get through.

Overall, I think the premise was intriguing enough that it will be remembered. Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Brandy Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple buys an old house in hopes of salvaging their marriage. As their relationship fractures, so do the walls, literally. The house becomes both a metaphor and the monster. While that could have been compelling, the execution feels uneven as there were so many other subplots added.

Tenn narrates most of the story, though not always reliably. She suffers from depression and intrusive thoughts.

The husband’s character is underdeveloped. His job is referenced with vague mystery that never pays off. And their parenting choices seem questionable…

Overall, this book tries to juggle too many ideas: domestic drama, haunted house, and camera loving ghosts but never commits fully to any of them.

As it is, this is sort of a haunted mess with potential buried under its floorboards. 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ward has recently gotten a new, higher-paying job and moved to what is supposedly his wife Tenn's dream home with their two children. I say "supposedly" because, although the home is much larger than what they had, it doesn't seem to be in good shape and is never really presented as anyone's idea of a dream home. Tenn has had some issues in the past with depression, and this is meant to be a fresh start for the family. Instead, everything goes rapidly sour as the children start behaving strangely, things go missing, silhouettes appear to be watching from the sidelines, and Tenn gets caught in a repeating loop of chaos. Trying to flee the house only seems to make matters worse. Is it really a haunted dream home, or is it Tenn herself who is haunted?

I always enjoy haunted house stories. When you throw in creepy happenings among kids, it really gets my adrenaline going. Particularly when I am not sure if you need to protect the children or need protection from the children. I have often times complained about repetitiveness in horror, but being caught in a loop worked for me in this book. I loved Tenn, and I loved to hate her husband, Ward. So many times, I just wanted to smack him and say step up! But I guess all haunted house stories need a useless husband to make things worse before they can get better.

My thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for the e-ARC

[Ashley Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

《4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5⭐️》

When documentary filmmaker Tennessee "Tenn" Cherish moves with her family into her dream home, it feels like the fresh start she's been waiting for. But with her husband's job always pulling him away and the pressures of motherhood closing in, the home quickly begins to feel less like a refuge and more like a trap. Small odd occurrences start to pile up: a faucet that seems to never stop running, a doll that reappears in impossible places, and a human tooth hidden in the floorboards. As Tenn struggles to adjust, the disturbances escalate and reality itself begins to fracture, with moments and routines repeating in increasingly unsettling ways. What begins as domestic unease turns into a disorienting nightmare, forcing Tenn to question whether her house is haunted, her mind is slipping, or something far stranger is reshaping her family's life from within.

There's just something deeply unsettling about Accumulation, and not in the loud jumpscare type of way. This is a slow unraveling. A quiet and creeping psychological horror where the tension builds inside the ordinary everyday moments. What starts as an eerie haunted house story gradually becomes something heavier and more emotionally raw, exploring loneliness, fractured relationships, identity loss, and the blurry line between reality and perception. The atmosphere here is incredibly effective with this constant undercurrent of dread humming throughout. That said, this is definitely a novel that leans into ambiguity. By the end I was both fascinated and disoriented, trying to piece together what was real, what wasn't, and what the story was ultimately trying to say. I can see readers either loving that uncertainty or wanting much clearer answers. For me the mood and emotional depth made it worth the ride! If you're into atmospheric psychological horror that feels lonely, intimate, and quietly unhinged, this one is for you!

[Anna Dupre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are there haunted houses? Or just haunted people? And in the end, does it really matter?

Aimee Pokwatka's Accumulation poses such questions through a modern lens, emphasizing the need for identity, creativity, and understanding. Moving into a new, old home brings about understandable stressors for a family of four as is the case of Tenn, her husband Ward, and their two children, Anders and Ainsley. What starts as just finding a creepy doll in the yard quickly escalates to something else entirely with no clear rhyme or reason that Tenn can discern. When the health and safety of her family are placed on the line, Tenn tries to make sense of the senseless while also reckoning with her own inner turmoils. Can the cycles she's come to recognize be broken or is this conflict a matter of circumstance dictated by setting?

Pokwatka's novel does a lot of heavy lifting concerning traditional gender roles, deeply rooted norms, and the all-too familiar toll of these very things, particularly on mothers. Focusing mostly on Tenn's experiences, Accumulation is a novel of just that - a snowballing of small inconveniences into outright hellish, dangerous happenings. While it would be easy to craft a traditional haunted house story to allegorize these struggles, Pokwatka goes above and beyond to deliver a harsh truth that despite our very best efforts, no matter how hard, fast, and far we run, there we are.

This is a complex crux of the haunted house narrative that Pokwatka hacks to prove that no simple exorcism, blessing, or demolition can fix the troubles plaguing Tenn and her family, much like in our own lives. As so disturbingly displayed within these pages, behaviors are cyclical patterns that are bound to not only repeat, but reverberate, without interference. It is only understanding and making peace with our demons that we can change the course, steer the train onto a new track, and save ourselves.

Accumulation is a brilliant, haunting novel for the robust, nuanced territory Aimee Pokwatka traverses. This isn't a book with neat bows or the perfect ghost to expel; no, it is much more than that, transcending the typical haunted house narrative to prove both people and place bring energy to the table, a bleeding of histories, traumas, ghosts, and ghouls. In allowing space for these very things and learning to live with them, to give them a seat at the table, growth and change can occur in a profound, meaningful way. This is the kind of noteworthy, prescient speculative fiction that allows so many to feel seen, to understand our current moment in a way that also allows for significant, generational change.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This haunted-house-as-metaphor-for-a -crumbling -marriage/being-true-to-yourself book, ended in the most inane manner. What follows is its synopsis; maybe it will appeal to you.

Tennessee Cherish—Tenn for short—has put aside her career as a documentary film maker to be a stay-at-home-mom. She takes on all responsibility because she doesn’t make the boo koo bucks her husband does. She isn’t too happy in this role, but unlike her husband, she shows up. Their marriage is strained so they decide to lift stakes in North Carolina, and start afresh in New York state.

As she tweezers fingernails, beads, and teeth out of the floorboards, an ugly and filthy doll keeps appearing and disappearing. Tenn begins experiencing strange thoughts; something her husband thinks are bogus (why doesn’t he believe and trust her?). Eventually, she realizes that she may be behind the odd events and black silhouettes that occur in their money-pit of a home. Can she save things before the really bad stuff begins? Was it worth going through just to have the most disappointing/Hallmark ending?

I would like to thank G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Jo | HonkIfYouRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up!
The setting of this novel was absolutely perfect. A family moving into their dream home that's older, and might be a little haunted....Everything was deeply unsettling about the occurrences that were happening around the house, how the kids were affected, and also the repetitive nature throughout the story. The story was incredibly atmospheric and the character conflicts built that up into a whole other layer of disturbing chaos.
While Tenn was constantly running herself ragged trying to figure out what was going on with their home, her husband Ward, was completely unbothered until it became a problem for him too. The amount of anger I felt with Ward's dismissive behavior was unmatched. It truly had me riled up and chomping at the bit for the big plot twist.....
We get to the big reveal and everything fell really flat for me. The plot twist wasn't all that great and the ending felt incredibly rushed. It was a very 'and then they lived happily ever after' sort of ending that didn't provide a whole lot of payoff. I really wish this had gone in another direction and leaned more into an Amityville sort of vibe, but alas this is not Amityville. I would say the first 60%~ was great and had me in a chokehold; it was really setting up to be a 4.5-5 star read, but I just can't get over the way everything wrapped up.
I still definitely recommend this book because it was SUCH a vibe, but go in with zero expectations and ride the wave.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars (rounding up)

The book started out so strong for me but kind of fizzled out by the end, and I found the ending itself to be just fine and nothing that's going to leave me pondering. During the first act I was thinking the book might be 3.5 stars, then it went down to 3 and 2.5 in the second and third acts.

The book begins with a family of four - Tenn, Ward, Anders and Aisling (mother, father, older brother, younger sister) - starting over in a new state, new house, new careers and schools. Tenn seemed rather unhappy in their previous life, and Ward "gifted" this new life to her, but she can't help but to feel pretty isolated and lonely in a place where she has no support system. On top of that, Ward knows of Tenn's battle with anxiety/depression, and is constantly leaving her alone to take care of everything with the house and the kids while he works more than a full-time job, always consumed with work, and tries to ignore all problems that he can't easily fix. Oh, also, something about their new house/life seemed haunted, a problem that *certainly* doesn't have a simple solution. As one could imagine, Tenn's mental state also takes a turn for the worse due to her current situation, making reality a bit... slippery?

The set up seemed like something I was definitely going to be into; I love a good psychological horror/unreliable reality situation. And in the beginning, as we're first shown Tenn's continuous, rambling, sped-up, run-on thoughts and everything turning strange, I was invested. However, after a while, the narrative started becoming repetitive and dragging a bit - not great when the e-book was only 235 pages.

The target audience would be someone looking for an emotional haunted house/ghost story with an unsettling atmosphere, but not necessarily someone looking for a lot of scares along the way.

Thank you so much to the publisher Putnam Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive an ARC of this book! Accumulation is set to be released 5.5.26!

[this_eel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solidly three stars, because I zipped through it and enjoyed much of the writing and many of the elements of haunting, but...! I really did enjoy the reading experience, which went so fast and was facilitated by competent, readable prose and tantalizing ideas. But! these things were a disguise for dropped plot lines, connections left unmade, and flat characterization. (More below.) There was much promise in the deteriorating house, Tenn's mental health struggles, the children's erratic behavior, the crappy workaholic husband! I was thoroughly absorbed by all of the questions and trials raised through most of the book. But solutions for some of these issues, or even open endings, are left unaddressed, or else the solutions come easy and out of nowhere. In other words, 80% of a grand old time, let down severely by the 20%--the hardest part of any book, of course--that is bringing all your ideas to a compelling resolution.

The sources of my dissatisfaction: I really didn't want the husband plot to be resolved by the husband suddenly dropping his workload and being attentive and emotionally open with no real moment of revelation--total character about face and I don't know why. I didn't want the medium Tenn met in the library to become her bestie for no reason AND explain everything. I wanted to know if the house was deteriorating because of Tenn's hauntedness or because it really was a shit purchase. I want to know why they stopped worrying about money halfway through the book when they're racking up tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. And why they're staying in such a physically dangerously literally unhinged house with their children. I wanted the sudden worsening of Tenn's haunting to be explicitly linked to the death of her childhood friend, instead of both plotlines being raised and ruminated on and never connected. I wanted a conversation with Aisling between Aisling and Tenn about Aisling's haunting - treat her like an intelligent being PLEASE, even if she is little!

Also: I don't care for the conclusion: "you can dehaunt yourself by engaging in creative activities" is a reasonable if a little lackluster moral, but "and you can do that by setting up a live feed of your house that shows your children all the time" is an absolutely dreadful extension of that moral. I felt for you when you were accidentally making your husband fall off a ladder dozens of times in a row but NOT when you momfluence your already deeply troubled children to rid yourself of ghosts. Goodbye Tenn I knew you medium.

All in all, fast and fun and lets itself down.

This book was received as a free ARC from the publisher.

[Alenna Burleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story we follow a family who has just moved into their forever home, when weird things keep piling up the wife starts wondering what is real and what isn’t.

I ended up having to dnf this around 78% through. I felt like it was really hard to get into, I didnt like the characters. There was a lot of amnesia type of things and recurring events that just made this book super hard to follow. This one was just unfortunately not for me.

Thank you Netgally for sending this one over!

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ad much love for my advance copy @putnambooks #partner
& @prhaudio #partner for the ALC

Accumulation
< @
Releases:

Anyone could do anything at any time…

"This is what's real, and the rest is bullshit."

It’s a new house; a new beginning. But things slowly start to unravel. There’s the nightmares, the scratches, the thoughts, things going missing.

Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka is a slow-brew creepy read that I enjoyed. While it did feel like the story went off on different tangents - and this would annoy me in other books - I found myself loving it here.

There’s the weird supernatural side of things happening in the house and then another physical side where everything is being put on Tenn, the mother. Are they stemming from the same thing or are they two separate happenings? Whether these forces share a common origin or exist as parallel afflictions remains uncertain to us, and it’s that ambiguity that I loved. The intersection of the supernatural and the deeply personal makes for an exceptional read.

A mysterious, possibly haunted house, with a creepy doll, and then the weight of everything that is always put on women and moms. Tenn losing her job because her kids are having troubles in school and GOD FORBID the father possibly takes any of the responsibility. He annoyed me to no end.

Memorable:
The author’s note

Pokwatka captures the strain of motherhood and partnership so beautifully - the fragile balancing act of identity, ambition, and obligation, and the psychological toll when that balance collapses. The domestic sphere becomes both battleground and prison. Just fascinating to examine.

And then there’s the house itself, coming apart at its seams. A reflection of everything unraveling around and within it - or something else entirely.

Thought-provoking and well written.

Love how I didn’t realize Gogo was a dog and not a little kid until around chapter 4-5…. 🫣😂

🎧: Also followed along with the audio and def recommend it. Ellen Adair did a phenomenal job and I enjoyed listening to her. She doesn’t only bring Tenn’s character to life but also the story. Just fab.

Told in three parts, I found the first half more intriguing but enjoyed all three.

[Emily Garmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
Accumulation follows our main character, Tennessee or Tenn, as she and her husband move into a brand new house up in New York. Although they have lived in North Carolina, they are excited to move into a house that is Tenn's dream. But as they settle in with their children, Anders and Aisling, things start to become progressively more strange. From being stuck in a time loop, to items disappering. Tenn doesn't know how to make her husband understand nor how to keep her children safe from whatever is happening in their new home. As Tenn tries to stop the supernatural from encroaching on their home, she is left with upholding her entire family's sanity. Will she be able to navigate these changes or will the house take things over for her?

My thoughts: I loved this one, It was a super fast read. But not only that, I found Tenn's thoughts and greviances very real. I liked how this ghost story was not a typical ghost story, and how throughout the novel we, the reader, got to see Tenn becoming stronger through learning how she can overcome. I felt for Tenn and her experiences. This was a singular novel of motherhood horror that I think everyone should read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy for review. All opinions are my own.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow burn, atmospheric, and unsettling haunted house story.

[Becky Spratford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review in the April 2026 issue of Library Journal

Three Words That Describe this book: immersive, quickly escalating terror, haunted house

Draft Review: Tenn, Ward, and their two kids have moved to a large, old house in upstate New York. Tenn, has struggled to get her once promising filmmaker career off the ground, but now is her chance, with the kids getting older and Ward’s new, better paying job. But, the kids are not adjusting well. They are having nightmares and misbehaving at school, while Ward is too busy to help. As the strange occurrences pile-up and reverberate, it becomes clear they have a very real problem, and Tenn’s skills as a filmmaker may be the one thing that can save them. Readers will fall easily into the story as the mundane unease of major life changes steadily escalates and works in tandem with Powatka’s thoughtful attention to seemingly small details, to shift the overall tone from detached dread to a rising tide of fear so intense that readers may need to step out of their own house for a breath of fresh air before finishing this one.

Verdict: A must add title for those who crave immersive, disorienting haunted house stories in the vein of The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, The September House by Carissa Orlando, and House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.

As I was reading, I noted "why title?" It pays off and makes sense. I enjoyed that. I liked how just as I was thinking hmmmm, title? The story started to show me why. And without being gimmicky.

This is a serious haunted house story. One that is women decide to focus on their marriage or family, where the price women pay for domesticity is part of the story but also there is actually a haunting. This is not it's all in her head.

Tenn is the main character and most of the story is told through her, but her husband Ward does get some turns with point of view.

Begins as a family moves to an old house in a new town (from NC to upstate NY) to start over after some troubles. We learn of the troubles they had/are running from. But unlike many of these stories which make it only about the woman giving up her dreams and career for her husband and kids-- this book makes you think that is what is happening but it turns out all of it, even the things that appear to be this simple-- are not.

That was well done. The reasons Tenn has struggled with her filmmaker career and the reasons she has experienced bouts of depression and the reasons her children and husband are asking things worse with their behavior during the move-- it all begins to make sense from a haunted house standpoint not a price women pay for domesticity. Sure that is an undercurrent, but there is a cool supernatural/ghost based thing happening here.

It also makes fir some cool scenes in the book. I am not giving away what they are, but readers will notice things that seem off or repeated. spread out at first, but speeding up as it goes on.

As someone who read a lot of haunted house books, I appreciate the care Powatka put into telling a story that was well constructed and compelling. The details here are thoughtfully laid out and things come together in original ways. I did not know anything about Pokwatka before reading this book, and after reading, I can say with confidence I would read her next book.

For fans of intense, haunted houses stories that the reader feels-- immersive, disorienting, terrifying-- The Grip of It by Jemc, The September House by Orlando, Wonderland by Stage. Even a bit of House of Leaves here at times.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book

It confuses me how this book started off way too quickly, but then progressed way too slowly to keep me interested. In the first chapter or two, this book started off like the shot of a gun, explaining the situation we are walking into too quickly with too many characters and too much storyline. I really wish this would have eased into the story building instead of overwhelming us with so much information in the first two chapters. After the first two chapters, it took almost half of the book for anything to start making sense. I think there we’re way too many pieces of the puzzle and plot line ideas to keep me engaged. A haunted house, children harming the babysitter, this weird doll, a failing marriage, this husband‘s work, the mom‘s inner turmoil. I either wish that they would have eliminated a few of the aspects or rearranged how they brought each aspect into the story.

This story was disappointing in the same way I felt We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough was disappointing. This isn’t horror, it seems more like a domestic thriller. Maybe I don’t like haunted house stories all that much.

[Brittany | Lady in Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley, Putnam, and Aimee Pokwatka for this ARC. This review contains my honest, authentic thoughts and opinions.*

This might be one of my favorite ARCs I’ve ever read. It was the kind of creepy I loved about We Used to Live Here - where you feel unsettled, even during the little things. The confusion and helplessness Tenn feels trying to figure out why and how and IF her house is haunted was one of the most compelling things about this book. I feel like haunted house books can feel a little cheesy or outlandish or even (god forbid) boring. But this one was unique. I never felt like I was being dragged through an overdone or misleading plot line. And I never felt like I knew what was going to happen next. I felt so bad for everyone in the family, so when they felt helpless, I felt helpless. I wanted them to figure “IT” out. As I was nearing the end, I was so afraid the book would conclude lazily, but it really did feel satisfying - even if it wasn’t necessarily the best outcome (in my opinion). It made sense. I am definitely an Aimee Pokwatka fan now.

[denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I typically adhere to a 48-hour embargo before writing a review; however, Accumulation is another novel that falls into the category of “curious premise that buckles under the weight of authorial inconsistencies.”

The dread of domesticity, dissatisfaction, and discontent (my phrasing is not lost on me!) can be powerful instruments to horror’s multidimensionality. What works adequately in this novel is the anxiety that comes attached to the mundane and the way patterns of everyday life become unbearable the longer one feels pinned to habitual endeavors. The repetition and looping, prioritizing care for others that simultaneously smothers one’s desires can, and does, accrete and build to a neverending nightmare that crystallizes into a horrific reality. I am appreciative that Pokwatka focused the novel around how this ontological collapse makes someone feel haunted, and it becomes so unbearable to acknowledge the impossibilities of escaping such an existence.

However, the novel itself never built in a compelling manner where the writing’s syntactic accretion paralleled the build up of suffocation, invisible resentment, continued obligation, and ongoing attendance to duties and responsibilities. Rather than allow the prose to mimic the horror, where the writing functions as the vehicle for the novel’s themes of increasing monotony and unbearable burdens, Pokwatka seems to do the exact opposite. For a novel titled Accumulation, it would have been interesting to witness the parallel between Tenn’s inability to control and manage her resentment with run-on sentences and parentheticals that deny the reader in the same way Tenn is refused. Readers don’t need an explanation of managed dread, they need to *feel* it, the excesses that come with a failure to contain, the burden of domesticity and routine that overwhelms the reader through varying sentence lengths. The parentheticals functioned in a manner where their repetitive nature were transactional and affirmative; instead, these additions should be emotionally heavy, laden with sensory immediacy to reveal to us that Tenn’s life is unbroken yet unbearable, inflexible and destructive.

By the midpoint, the novel collapsed entirely and I finished it out of hope for whatever Tenn’s “resolution” might be. There were some places in the narrative where I raised my eyebrow and expressed skepticism on whether I was witnessing Tenn’s insight or Pokwatka’s. There is a moment where Tenn and Ward consult a general contractor and *then* a structural engineer (an odd sequence of events when acknowledging just HOW big these drywall fissures are and the varying angles of the cracks are, but I’ll allow it for review purposes) and the sequence was instructive. Initially, Tenn doubts Edgar, Edgar demonstrates adequate professional knowledge and competence, but then the narrative retreats back into her original skepticism through a different proxy – as the owner’s son, not the company owner, and therefore unreliable. Interesting that this is Tenn’s conclusion when there is no behavioral evidence to support that renewed doubt; what this moment does *is* support the narrative’s inability to interrogate whether Tenn’s distrust is earned. For example, she’s quite accustomed to not being believed so why would she believe others? Others have contested her credibility, and her dubious self-belief *could* become a mirror that she reflects back onto the world and those around her – whether it's earned or not.

When a novel allows racialized suspicion to persist through demonstrated competence, especially without authorial pushback, it hasn’t rendered a character’s flawed interiority. To me, this is an endorsement. Unfortunately, I find myself incapable of severing the unexamined assumptions between the fictional apparatus and the author, my reading labor shifts from engagement to scrutiny for the remainder of the work. This was where I checked out, divested my care from the fabric of the work; as a writer myself, a reader’s lack of care is a death sentence. That’s because I didn’t expect Pokwatka, or any author really, to be knowledgeable about construction practices. However, I do expect the narrative not to participate in reifying racialized suspicion as ‘intuition,’ particularly when the text has already demonstrated that intuition’s failure to justify itself.

1 out of 5 stars. I appreciated that it’s a rarity to have a novel written in third-person that extended interiority beyond the protagonist to give some semblance of depth to a supporting character.

[Drea | Borrowed Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ This had all the makings of a great psychological horror x haunted house mash up that I love but the ending just lost me entirely. This is about a family who moves into a new home and the mother and family experience many creepy things from items disappearing, to accidents and falls and so much more. I loved how incredibly atmospheric this book is, I felt every part of the house so much that it felt like its own character.

I especially loved the underlying themes of an overstretched mother, losing herself in housework and her kids and a spouse/partner who lets it happen and sinks away into their own space and work. This is SO relatable and I felt everything to my very core. I’m sure so many mothers would also relate and so many wives will want to strangle Ward, the husband. The build up of the house haunting alongside their martial issues was fantastic but what I didn’t love is the last 10% and resolution of this story. It moved in a direction I wasn’t expecting and frankly didn’t love it, so it was a bit of a letdown in the end. I will say it was unique and unlike any other story ending I’ve read, so I guess there’s that. I still think horror lovers will enjoy this one.

TLDR:
* Haunted House x Psychological Horror
* Atmospheric and slow build dread
* Domestic partnership & parenting issues
* Lackluster ending

This was my 60th book of 2026
Format: Libby Audio

[Lorin (paperbackbish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Putnam for my free copy of Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka — out now!

» READ IF YOU «
🏚️ loved The Haunting of Hill House
🪆 know how absolutely freaky dolls can be
🌀 enjoy slow-burn domestic horror with a message

» SYNOPSIS «
Former filmmaker Tenn and her little family have just moved into her dream house in upstate New York. Tenn starts to feel a little claustrophobic, though—not helped by the loss of her job, her increasingly absent husband, her kids acting out, and the weird things that keep happening. Why is there a TOOTH in the floorboards?! Could her perfect home be haunted, or is Tenn losing her mind?

» REVIEW «
This is suuuuuch a smart, powerful little book. Accumulation asks a question similar to that of The Haunting of Hill House: is it the house, or the occupant? And Pokwatka adds a layer about gender roles and domesticity—it feels like Tenn is losing her identity to the mundanity of traditional "women's work" as the story goes on. But, it's a very realistic slide and doesn't feel forced at all—what choice does she have, when time and money and parenting are very real constraints.

Tenn herself is a wonderfully authentic FMC. She's not a mess and she's not a martyr, she's just a normal woman trying to hold together the fraying ends of her day-to-day life. The whole family, actually, feels startlingly human in a way that horror stories don't always bother with, and for me it made the whole narrative more grounded in reality, so much so that I couldn't put it down.

Definitely one to pick up if you're a fan of character-driven horror and/or literary fiction centered on modern women! Without spoiling anything, there's a bit near the end in here about how, "there's nothing to fix," and I think that message is so healing and so perfect.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Austin Sill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot going for it. (Especially that amazing cover). The writing is solid and it has some fun and trippy cerebral horror sequences and concepts, but they are utilized so strongly in service of the book’s avowed themes on motherhood and individuality that they fall short of making for a deeply compelling narrative. That’s a wordy way of saying, the message gets a bit too much in the way of the story… at least for me. I love a good social horror, particularly feminist horror, but when the author gets too didactic, I feel robbed as a reader.

3.5 stars. Recommended for those who like their horror gothic and psychological.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family Drama, Hauntings, Mental Health, Unreliable Narrator. I loved this one. It was a tough read, especially around the mental health so please check your trigger warnings.

Tenn moves to her dream house with her husband and two children. Although everything seems ideal at first, strange things start occurring. The family begins to spiral and the same scenes play out over and over again; a distant conversation with her husband near the back stairs, her son getting a nail through his foot. The house literally starts to fall apart and their minds start to shatter. But is it really just the house?

This one gave me tons of dread. Tenn’s mental unraveling was terrifying. Even more terrifying was how isolated and alone she was. Not a huge fan of the husband through most of the book. I found it hard to empathize with him. Loved Tenn. I think her curiosity saved her. She demanded to know more so she could save herself and her family.

[Alyson Larrabee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5 stars. A complex and adventurous tale about a family who moves into a very old house that’s haunted. The father is skeptical. The mother can’t escape the silhouettes and weird occurrences that not only follow her everywhere, they’re inside her, possessing her 5 senses. Her sixth sense seems to be a heightening of all 5 senses which makes sense. Tenn and Ward and their two young children love each other and want to stay together in their house but the occurrences endanger each of them in various and different ways. I’m still pondering the ending. A lot to think about there.

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Accumulation tries to force too many subplots into one space, leaving the story feeling more like a jumbled collection of ideas than a cohesive haunting. The characters lack the depth needed to make the stakes feel real, with children who stay in the background and a marriage defined by repetitive silence. Ward is a particularly annoying figure; he is framed as a natural fixer, yet he spends the bulk of the book dodging domestic reality until he undergoes a convenient personality shift at the end. I kept waiting for his mysterious security job to add a layer of dread, but that thread is unfortunately left dangling. With these underdeveloped arcs and a plot that can't quite commit to its paranormal roots, the book ends up feeling like a family drama with ghosts just watching from the sidelines. It’s a disappointing outcome for a story that had so many interesting pieces to play with.

[Chelsea Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this in one day.

I was immediately obsessed from the first chapter. It felt like everything I love in a haunted house trope was in this book. The little doll?! Perfection!!

I've never read anything else from the author but she's on my radar now because this book was so perfect for me. It was a haunted house on paper but so much more going on in the background. Relationships, grief, death, mental health.

I can't wait to see what is next for Aimee Pokwatka. Please keep writing horror books!

I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

[A.M. (ᴍʏ.sᴘᴏᴏᴋʏ.ᴡᴀʏs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, let's talk about 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 by Aimee Pokwatka. I went into this one expecting a total ride because, as anyone who follows me knows, I am an absolute whore for atmosphere and solid haunted house-horror vibes. For about 70% of this book? It fucking delivered.

We follow Tenn, a former documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom (the internal crisis is real), her workaholic husband Ward, their two kids, and a weiner(?) dog named Gogo. They pack up and move from North Carolina to a massive, historic money-pit of a house in New York.

Of course, the second they unpack, the kids start acting like absolute weirdos, bizarre shit starts happening, and Ward is nonstop, leaving Tenn to deal with it completely unsupported (🖕🏼 you, Ward!) The build-up is fantastic though. You’ve got a creepy-ass doll moving around on its own, a stressful babysitter sequence where the kids go 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧, and plenty of unsettling attic nonsense. I was completely gripped, at the edge of my seat, and ready to hand this thing a glowing 5 stars. I was even getting genuinely pissed off at the husband on Tenn's behalf (again, 🖕🏼 you, Ward!)

But then we hit the final 30%, and then … sigh. The ending sucked a massive amount of enthusiasm right out of me. After this intense, nail-biting build-up, the conclusion just... wraps up way too quickly and easily, hence my 3.5-ish stars. The ending felt rushed, and it kind of deflated the tension I'd been white-knuckling through for three hundred pages. Maybe it’s just a personal taste issue, but I wanted a payoff that matched the anxiety of the setup. Or maybe I was asking too much, I don’t know. Also, what’s up with the ghosts wanting to be on camera? 👀 Uhm. Not sure how I felt about that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Despite the ending fumbling the landing a bit, the majority of the book is a stellar exploration of domesticity, motherhood, and psychological dread. If you are an atmosphere girlie who wants a slightly different, deeply weird (and I mean WEIRD) take on a haunted house story, this will absolutely scratch that itch.

Recommend? Yeah, sure, why not. Just prepare yourself for a bit of an abrupt finish.

(𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙪𝙩𝙣𝙖𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮!)