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This Cursed House
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Horror (2024)In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over. But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2024
359 people are currently reading
54861 people want to read
About the author
Del Sandeen
15 books183 followersDel Sandeen lives in northeast Florida, where she works as a copy editor and writes speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Nightlight podcast, and Gay Magazine. This Cursed House is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,081 reviews
September 13, 2024
Gothic and dripping with atmosphere and tension, This Cursed House delivered a chilling Southern gothic tale about a house, a curse and the Duchon family. I loved the vivid descriptions and the feeling of dread and emotion that this book evoked. The Duchon family have bene cursed and have not left their home for almost 28 years! Can you even imagine? The isolation, the boredom, the lack of outside stimulation, lack of socializing? Being stuck with the same people/family members day after day, week after week, year after year!
Jemma Barker has received a very generous job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans. Jemma jumps on it. She wants to leave her life in Chicago behind and start over. Upon arriving in New Orleans, Jemma notices people are welcoming until they hear she will be working for the Duchon family. Then they become guarded and cold; often warning her against working for them. The family can't be that bad, can they?????
Upon arrival she learns she has been brought there under false pretenses, and that their ulterior motive is a dark one. They have been cursed and believe that she is the only person who can break the curse. Talk about pressure!
This book is full of secrets, spirits, lies, deception, atmosphere, tension, dread, hope, and anger. This book had a very creepy vibe to it. I loved the setting and the unsettling something-isn't-quite-right vibe which flowed throughout the book. Plus, Jemma can see spirits/haints in the home. She has been able to see spirits her entire life, but it is still unsettling and scary for her.
The characters range from the likeable supporting characters of Dennis and Magdalene to the many unlikeable main characters in the Duchon family. There were also a few characters which I felt sorry for while reading. Imagine being stuck with the same people day after day, week after week, year after year -UGH!
I thought the author did a tremendous job of showing colorism and how the Duchon family, who were light enough to pass as white, looked down on anyone, including Jemma, who had darker skin. Plus, the amount of family secrets this family had was enough to make my head spin. The unraveling of those secrets made for interesting and captivating reading!
This book played out like a movie in my mind. As I mentioned this was a very atmospheric gothic southern tale that was equal parts chilling and tense. There were a few twists and revelations along the way which kept me fully invested in the plot and turning the pages.
*This was a wonderful buddy read with Carolyn! Please read her review as well to see if this book haunted her as it did me!
Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House | Michael Joseph and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
Jemma Barker has received a very generous job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans. Jemma jumps on it. She wants to leave her life in Chicago behind and start over. Upon arriving in New Orleans, Jemma notices people are welcoming until they hear she will be working for the Duchon family. Then they become guarded and cold; often warning her against working for them. The family can't be that bad, can they?????
Upon arrival she learns she has been brought there under false pretenses, and that their ulterior motive is a dark one. They have been cursed and believe that she is the only person who can break the curse. Talk about pressure!
This book is full of secrets, spirits, lies, deception, atmosphere, tension, dread, hope, and anger. This book had a very creepy vibe to it. I loved the setting and the unsettling something-isn't-quite-right vibe which flowed throughout the book. Plus, Jemma can see spirits/haints in the home. She has been able to see spirits her entire life, but it is still unsettling and scary for her.
The characters range from the likeable supporting characters of Dennis and Magdalene to the many unlikeable main characters in the Duchon family. There were also a few characters which I felt sorry for while reading. Imagine being stuck with the same people day after day, week after week, year after year -UGH!
I thought the author did a tremendous job of showing colorism and how the Duchon family, who were light enough to pass as white, looked down on anyone, including Jemma, who had darker skin. Plus, the amount of family secrets this family had was enough to make my head spin. The unraveling of those secrets made for interesting and captivating reading!
This book played out like a movie in my mind. As I mentioned this was a very atmospheric gothic southern tale that was equal parts chilling and tense. There were a few twists and revelations along the way which kept me fully invested in the plot and turning the pages.
*This was a wonderful buddy read with Carolyn! Please read her review as well to see if this book haunted her as it did me!
Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House | Michael Joseph and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
December 26, 2024
This is a good example of why that “show, don’t tell” adage gets tossed around so much: when you’re reading a book by an author who doesn’t show, it is literally the only thing you can focus on.
I don’t understand how an editor actually looked over this and left all fifty billion uses of “more slowly”, “more quickly”, “more loudly”, “more XYZ”, over slower, faster, louder, etc. I don’t get how nobody suggested cutting out at least some of the repetitious exposition and hammering in of points that were already made (or that the author pretended she made earlier so that she didn’t have to actually write character development). I don't get how nobody pointed out the inconsistencies, the predictability, or the lack of atmosphere.
Our protagonist, Jemma, is incapable of making observations in her internal voice or experiencing the world via her senses. Every interaction she has, everything she touches, and everything she eats, is all conveyed by third-person-limited narration which tells us exactly how she feels about it and why. No object ever has an interesting texture, food has no particular taste, the property has no particular features, the weather ceases to exist after chapter 1, but dammit if you aren’t going to be told 45 times about Jemma’s flat response to these nondescript things.
There’s none of that rich descriptive/sensory language that makes Gothic horror work so well; the protagonist may as well be a ghost herself for the way she’s written like she can’t engage with the book she’s in. It just felt dry, flat, and both under and overwritten. Even after spending almost 400 pages with them, I couldn't picture the characters. As is, there's no reason for this to be so long, and although this is of course subjective, as I was reading this I couldn't stop thinking that it would be so much better if it was written in first person. Being able to actually get inside Jemma's head would have been nothing but a benefit to this book IMO.
And hey, were you maybe wondering about any of the actual interesting stuff that was going on in the background? Maybe wanting some more of that? Well, sucks to be you!
Jemma’s mental health struggles end up being completely irrelevant despite being mentioned and built up so often that you’d think they would end up being the crux of the plot. Multiple interesting angles/tidbits are abandoned after they're mentioned. The backstory with Fosette and what she was keeping in her room would have been so much more powerful if I knew what Fosette looked like, had more context for it, understood the way she behaved as a character, or was offered any resolution on the matter aside from Jemma kind-of-sort-of mentioning it at the end but not actually putting the name to what she saw. I'm not saying I want things spelled out for me, but if the alternative is half the book being irrelevant and underdeveloped, I'm not sure I think that's a worthwhile compromise either??
Jemma also shows a weird lack of urgency and is generally inconsistent, though the narration insists she's trying and wants to figure everything out. She flat-out ignores a lot of painfully obvious hints, and she's rarely in a hurry to investigate evidence when it's found. (The amount of time she spent ignoring the book that a spirit threw off the shelf at her on I think three separate occasions?? The way she went to bed and returned to the evidence at her leisure, maybe even a few days later, every time she made a breakthrough?? Despite the very serious time crunch??)
I also don’t think this book does the best job portraying segregation, Jim Crow, colorism, and general racism in 1960s America / during the civil rights movement. Not terrible, but really not the best. The way the author wove the struggles Jemma faces through both plot points and day-to-day interactions was something I enjoyed; however, I think the issues are far too oversimplified and not done justice. The writing is too amateur for the themes, and the author is trying to do so much and hit so many massive topics that none of it worked.
With all that said, I think this book shows potential. If the execution was better, I might have loved this. The family, the setting, the backstory, and the house are all perfect pieces for an amazing Gothic horror. I wouldn’t say I liked this, but it also doesn’t deserve one star. There were good bones to this story and I wanted it to work. Ultimately, this didn’t have the emotional depth to be disturbing or affecting despite the fact that the topics covered (incest, racism, slavery, suicide, the list goes on) are inarguably disturbing and affecting subjects.
TLDR Gothic horror with a lack of sensory detail is always such a bummer, and I really don’t think this has earned the title of “Gothic” OR “horror.” This isn’t even thriller-scary, never mind horror. Plus, I don’t think I believe in forgiveness to the borderline ludicrous extent that this book suggests is healthy, and I struggle to reconcile with the assertion that forgiveness is always an option.
I don’t understand how an editor actually looked over this and left all fifty billion uses of “more slowly”, “more quickly”, “more loudly”, “more XYZ”, over slower, faster, louder, etc. I don’t get how nobody suggested cutting out at least some of the repetitious exposition and hammering in of points that were already made (or that the author pretended she made earlier so that she didn’t have to actually write character development). I don't get how nobody pointed out the inconsistencies, the predictability, or the lack of atmosphere.
Our protagonist, Jemma, is incapable of making observations in her internal voice or experiencing the world via her senses. Every interaction she has, everything she touches, and everything she eats, is all conveyed by third-person-limited narration which tells us exactly how she feels about it and why. No object ever has an interesting texture, food has no particular taste, the property has no particular features, the weather ceases to exist after chapter 1, but dammit if you aren’t going to be told 45 times about Jemma’s flat response to these nondescript things.
There’s none of that rich descriptive/sensory language that makes Gothic horror work so well; the protagonist may as well be a ghost herself for the way she’s written like she can’t engage with the book she’s in. It just felt dry, flat, and both under and overwritten. Even after spending almost 400 pages with them, I couldn't picture the characters. As is, there's no reason for this to be so long, and although this is of course subjective, as I was reading this I couldn't stop thinking that it would be so much better if it was written in first person. Being able to actually get inside Jemma's head would have been nothing but a benefit to this book IMO.
And hey, were you maybe wondering about any of the actual interesting stuff that was going on in the background? Maybe wanting some more of that? Well, sucks to be you!
Jemma’s mental health struggles end up being completely irrelevant despite being mentioned and built up so often that you’d think they would end up being the crux of the plot. Multiple interesting angles/tidbits are abandoned after they're mentioned. The backstory with Fosette and what she was keeping in her room would have been so much more powerful if I knew what Fosette looked like, had more context for it, understood the way she behaved as a character, or was offered any resolution on the matter aside from Jemma kind-of-sort-of mentioning it at the end but not actually putting the name to what she saw. I'm not saying I want things spelled out for me, but if the alternative is half the book being irrelevant and underdeveloped, I'm not sure I think that's a worthwhile compromise either??
Jemma also shows a weird lack of urgency and is generally inconsistent, though the narration insists she's trying and wants to figure everything out. She flat-out ignores a lot of painfully obvious hints, and she's rarely in a hurry to investigate evidence when it's found. (The amount of time she spent ignoring the book that a spirit threw off the shelf at her on I think three separate occasions?? The way she went to bed and returned to the evidence at her leisure, maybe even a few days later, every time she made a breakthrough?? Despite the very serious time crunch??)
I also don’t think this book does the best job portraying segregation, Jim Crow, colorism, and general racism in 1960s America / during the civil rights movement. Not terrible, but really not the best. The way the author wove the struggles Jemma faces through both plot points and day-to-day interactions was something I enjoyed; however, I think the issues are far too oversimplified and not done justice. The writing is too amateur for the themes, and the author is trying to do so much and hit so many massive topics that none of it worked.
With all that said, I think this book shows potential. If the execution was better, I might have loved this. The family, the setting, the backstory, and the house are all perfect pieces for an amazing Gothic horror. I wouldn’t say I liked this, but it also doesn’t deserve one star. There were good bones to this story and I wanted it to work. Ultimately, this didn’t have the emotional depth to be disturbing or affecting despite the fact that the topics covered (incest, racism, slavery, suicide, the list goes on) are inarguably disturbing and affecting subjects.
TLDR Gothic horror with a lack of sensory detail is always such a bummer, and I really don’t think this has earned the title of “Gothic” OR “horror.” This isn’t even thriller-scary, never mind horror. Plus, I don’t think I believe in forgiveness to the borderline ludicrous extent that this book suggests is healthy, and I struggle to reconcile with the assertion that forgiveness is always an option.
October 13, 2024
i don’t believe in forgiveness enough to enjoy the 2nd half of this book
November 7, 2025
Buzzwords: Horror debut. Southern Gothic.
Quick Set-Up: A young black woman leaves 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans. It's not what she expected...
This Cursed House was high on my priority list and it didn't disappoint. I loved the atmosphere that Sandeen created and found the plot well-developed, as well as intriguing.
The Duchon family, the people that hire our MC, Jemma, are let's say, interesting, to learn about. As the Reader, you have a sort of fly on the wall perspective of so many dark family secrets being dug up; like a cornucopia of secrets. It's quite a trip and I feel like it's gonna stick with me.
This is a heavy story. Don't expected a light-hearted haunting with this one. It weighs on you, but with that, I feel like the author was successful. It should weigh on you. The themes explored within these pages aren't easy, but they are well worth the read and attention.
Also, it will keep you on our toes. I was full of questions throughout my time reading this. That's one of the aspects I really loved. Each chapter left me wanting to know more. It kept me going and invested.
The author was smart with how she laid out this story. It really doesn't take much time before you discover the true reason behind this family hiring Jemma. Yes, it's no random hire, and I liked that. I'm glad she didn't draw it out, because it left so much more time to explore this family.
Jemma is thrust into this new circumstance, which she definitely didn't expect and I liked going along with her as she learned about this family and their dark history.
There's so much going on in the house too. It says it all right in the title. Take that literally.
Overall, I loved the journey I went on with Jemma in this one and I also really appreciated the dark, unsettling atmosphere that Sandeen created. The historical aspects were also really well done and I loved the New Orleans backdrop.
I actually would love to see more stories with Jemma as our MC. I definitely think there is more room to grow with her character. She really came into her own here, and I feel like she can use what she learned to help others. I would def pick up all the books if this were to turn into a series!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a great debut.
I'm looking forward to more from Del Sandeen!
Quick Set-Up: A young black woman leaves 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans. It's not what she expected...
This Cursed House was high on my priority list and it didn't disappoint. I loved the atmosphere that Sandeen created and found the plot well-developed, as well as intriguing.
The Duchon family, the people that hire our MC, Jemma, are let's say, interesting, to learn about. As the Reader, you have a sort of fly on the wall perspective of so many dark family secrets being dug up; like a cornucopia of secrets. It's quite a trip and I feel like it's gonna stick with me.
This is a heavy story. Don't expected a light-hearted haunting with this one. It weighs on you, but with that, I feel like the author was successful. It should weigh on you. The themes explored within these pages aren't easy, but they are well worth the read and attention.
Also, it will keep you on our toes. I was full of questions throughout my time reading this. That's one of the aspects I really loved. Each chapter left me wanting to know more. It kept me going and invested.
The author was smart with how she laid out this story. It really doesn't take much time before you discover the true reason behind this family hiring Jemma. Yes, it's no random hire, and I liked that. I'm glad she didn't draw it out, because it left so much more time to explore this family.
Jemma is thrust into this new circumstance, which she definitely didn't expect and I liked going along with her as she learned about this family and their dark history.
There's so much going on in the house too. It says it all right in the title. Take that literally.
Overall, I loved the journey I went on with Jemma in this one and I also really appreciated the dark, unsettling atmosphere that Sandeen created. The historical aspects were also really well done and I loved the New Orleans backdrop.
I actually would love to see more stories with Jemma as our MC. I definitely think there is more room to grow with her character. She really came into her own here, and I feel like she can use what she learned to help others. I would def pick up all the books if this were to turn into a series!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a great debut.
I'm looking forward to more from Del Sandeen!
July 22, 2024
September 1962
Jemma Barker is travelling south from Chicago, it’s a long journey and she’s in train carriage marked ‘Colored’. She’s taking a position as a tutor with the eminent Duchon family in New Orleans, the salary is a generous $300 a week. Almost immediately upon arriving to the suffocating southern humidity she’s warned off the Duchons, why? She makes her way to the large antebellum house which is not as pristine as at first appearance, in fact, it’s neglected. To her surprise the Duchon family are also black, though they are very pale imitations of Jemma‘s dark skin, in fact, they could easily pass for white. The matriarch Honorine is haughty and the granddaughter Fossette is a puzzle and all are evasive about the job that Jemma is hired to do. Will she be able to shake off the ghosts she’s left behind in Chicago or has she travelled to something way more disturbing?
This is a very impressive southern Gothic horror debut novel in a great setting and a time period of change that lends so much scope to the storytelling. It’s got everything that you would want in a story of this kind. It’s ghostly, there’s a strange atmosphere not least created by the Duchons as well as that of the southern USA at this time. There are bizarre and troubling coincidences, there’s isolation, secrets, curses, a horrifying past (well this is the south….) so there are plenty of shocking reveals and then the fear that it evokes.
I really like the female lead in Jemma who certainly is
‘enough’ and although the other characters are very unlikeable for a variety of reasons, the author has portrayed them really well. The timeframe is a really good choice as this is a time of flux and change (or not…) and it creates a sort of bridge to the past.
It’s a good slow burn, it raises strong feelings and emotions, making me feel so angry at the overt racism as well as very sad. It may be a tad long (perhaps in the middle) but that’s my only criticism of a very strong first novel.
Congratulations to Del Sandeen for creating a spooky, ghostly, sinister tale which is very well written. I shall look forward to reading whatever she creates next.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
Jemma Barker is travelling south from Chicago, it’s a long journey and she’s in train carriage marked ‘Colored’. She’s taking a position as a tutor with the eminent Duchon family in New Orleans, the salary is a generous $300 a week. Almost immediately upon arriving to the suffocating southern humidity she’s warned off the Duchons, why? She makes her way to the large antebellum house which is not as pristine as at first appearance, in fact, it’s neglected. To her surprise the Duchon family are also black, though they are very pale imitations of Jemma‘s dark skin, in fact, they could easily pass for white. The matriarch Honorine is haughty and the granddaughter Fossette is a puzzle and all are evasive about the job that Jemma is hired to do. Will she be able to shake off the ghosts she’s left behind in Chicago or has she travelled to something way more disturbing?
This is a very impressive southern Gothic horror debut novel in a great setting and a time period of change that lends so much scope to the storytelling. It’s got everything that you would want in a story of this kind. It’s ghostly, there’s a strange atmosphere not least created by the Duchons as well as that of the southern USA at this time. There are bizarre and troubling coincidences, there’s isolation, secrets, curses, a horrifying past (well this is the south….) so there are plenty of shocking reveals and then the fear that it evokes.
I really like the female lead in Jemma who certainly is
‘enough’ and although the other characters are very unlikeable for a variety of reasons, the author has portrayed them really well. The timeframe is a really good choice as this is a time of flux and change (or not…) and it creates a sort of bridge to the past.
It’s a good slow burn, it raises strong feelings and emotions, making me feel so angry at the overt racism as well as very sad. It may be a tad long (perhaps in the middle) but that’s my only criticism of a very strong first novel.
Congratulations to Del Sandeen for creating a spooky, ghostly, sinister tale which is very well written. I shall look forward to reading whatever she creates next.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
June 28, 2025
that’s so funny I would have held the grudge and left
November 18, 2024
3⭐️s
I enjoyed some of the time I spent with this book, but only some. The rest of the time, I was “yelling through the screen” at the main character to just get the hell away from this family. Her motivations were extremely confusing to me at times, and quite honestly I think this sends the wrong message vis a vis how to disentangle from toxic family members. Distance is almost always better than forgiveness if said family members refuse to acknowledge culpability. Solving their problems at your own expense is not the course to charter.
Why You Should Or Shouldn’t Read It
Ummm… mixed feelings about this. The writing is good, and there are things to be enjoyed here… so why the hell not?
One Lesson I Learned
How not to approach reconciliation with pestilent family members.
One Thing That Will Stick With Me
The complete absence of beignets
I enjoyed some of the time I spent with this book, but only some. The rest of the time, I was “yelling through the screen” at the main character to just get the hell away from this family. Her motivations were extremely confusing to me at times, and quite honestly I think this sends the wrong message vis a vis how to disentangle from toxic family members. Distance is almost always better than forgiveness if said family members refuse to acknowledge culpability. Solving their problems at your own expense is not the course to charter.
Why You Should Or Shouldn’t Read It
Ummm… mixed feelings about this. The writing is good, and there are things to be enjoyed here… so why the hell not?
One Lesson I Learned
How not to approach reconciliation with pestilent family members.
One Thing That Will Stick With Me
The complete absence of beignets
June 9, 2024
“Some things are best left buried.”
A debut novel by Del Sandeen
Release: October 2024
From @berkleypub
..
Just finished this morning and I will drop my review on Patreon tomorrow. But I want to make sure the right horror readers pick this one up so here are my hooks & comps:
Read if you enjoy…
👻Southern gothic horror
👻Historical Fiction
👻Ghost stories/Haunted house
👻Family secrets & generational curses
👻Social commentary on racism, colorism, and enslavement through the lens of horror fiction
👻Strong female protagonists
👻Amateur sleuthing
👻BIG books w/ a slow burn (384 pages)
Comps: When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen, Kindred by Octavia Butler, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, and Beloved by Toni Morrison
..
Definitely an impressive debut! A solid 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I feel like it could have been a little leaner & meaner)
A debut novel by Del Sandeen
Release: October 2024
From @berkleypub
..
Just finished this morning and I will drop my review on Patreon tomorrow. But I want to make sure the right horror readers pick this one up so here are my hooks & comps:
Read if you enjoy…
👻Southern gothic horror
👻Historical Fiction
👻Ghost stories/Haunted house
👻Family secrets & generational curses
👻Social commentary on racism, colorism, and enslavement through the lens of horror fiction
👻Strong female protagonists
👻Amateur sleuthing
👻BIG books w/ a slow burn (384 pages)
Comps: When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen, Kindred by Octavia Butler, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, and Beloved by Toni Morrison
..
Definitely an impressive debut! A solid 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I feel like it could have been a little leaner & meaner)
September 28, 2024
THIS CURSED HOUSE had all the right pieces to put together a story that would captivate and emotionally wreck me. Unfortunately, the story’s execution and the writing style didn’t quite work for me. We have a perfect setup for immersive gothic horror, but we never quite got there.
The writing is lots of telling, not much showing. And the telling is repetitive. I wanted to feel the emotions and be immersed in the atmosphere, rather than simply being told about them.
I didn’t understand Gemma’s motivations for wanting any sort of relationship with this family. Yes, we were told a reason, over and over, but given the circumstances, it made no sense whatsoever.
Some heavy themes are explored throughout, which I thought were handled well.
*I received an eARC from Berkley Books, via NetGalley.*
The writing is lots of telling, not much showing. And the telling is repetitive. I wanted to feel the emotions and be immersed in the atmosphere, rather than simply being told about them.
I didn’t understand Gemma’s motivations for wanting any sort of relationship with this family. Yes, we were told a reason, over and over, but given the circumstances, it made no sense whatsoever.
Some heavy themes are explored throughout, which I thought were handled well.
*I received an eARC from Berkley Books, via NetGalley.*
October 15, 2024
A story with good bones, but the execution was lacking.
October 2, 2024
THIS CURSED HOUSE, by Del Sandeen, is a 1960s Southern gothic horror debut about a young Black woman, Jemma Barker, leaves Chicago and the spirits she’s always seen for a new start in New Orleans. Hired by the mysterious Duchon family, she soon learns they’re under a curse and believe she can break it. Light-skinned enough to pass as white, the Duchon family looks down on Jemma for her darker skin. As she unravels their dark secrets, she discovers she’s deeply connected to their century-old curse.
THIS CURSED HOUSE is a historical fiction ghost story, dealing with family and generational secrets, but mainly touches on colorism and racism. Twigger warning now for those who may want to read this book. Jemma is an amazing protagonist and one that I absolutely loved getting to know. She has a full personality and is so easy to root for. The suspense is skillfully woven throughout the story, though the pacing occasionally lags. This book was very slow moving, and I almost gave it 3 stars, but the ending was spectacular, so I decided to compromise and give it a 4.
THIS CURSED HOUSE is a historical fiction ghost story, dealing with family and generational secrets, but mainly touches on colorism and racism. Twigger warning now for those who may want to read this book. Jemma is an amazing protagonist and one that I absolutely loved getting to know. She has a full personality and is so easy to root for. The suspense is skillfully woven throughout the story, though the pacing occasionally lags. This book was very slow moving, and I almost gave it 3 stars, but the ending was spectacular, so I decided to compromise and give it a 4.
April 13, 2025
4.5⭐️ Twenty-seven year old Jemma Barker is looking to escape her life in Chicago, and the spirits that haunt her. But when a nannying job leads her to a family with their own unique curse, Jemma uncovers how much more there is to the story than meets the eye.
What a debut! From the go, I was completely transported to The Duchon’s house in 1962 New Orleans. On its surface, this book is indeed a southern gothic horror novel, with the corresponding themes, making it perfect for spooky season. And yet it goes so much deeper, exploring themes of generational trauma, racism and passing. And I think it’s this combo that sets it so far apart from others in the genre.
🎧 The audiobook, narrated so brilliantly by Chante’ McCormick, is spectacular. Not only does she do an exceptional job breathing life into our FMC, who I found to be one of the most dynamic and interesting characters I’ve read of late, but the audio manages to amp up the dark, gritty, and creepy atmosphere to another level. Immersive reading (pairing the physical or ebook with the audiobook) is the best way to go with this new release.
Read if you like:
▪️paranormal elements
▪️historical fiction
▪️strong FMCs
▪️New Orleans setting
▪️atmospheric reads
▪️heavier themes of racism and “passing”
Thank you Berkley Pub and PRH Audio for the advanced copies.
What a debut! From the go, I was completely transported to The Duchon’s house in 1962 New Orleans. On its surface, this book is indeed a southern gothic horror novel, with the corresponding themes, making it perfect for spooky season. And yet it goes so much deeper, exploring themes of generational trauma, racism and passing. And I think it’s this combo that sets it so far apart from others in the genre.
🎧 The audiobook, narrated so brilliantly by Chante’ McCormick, is spectacular. Not only does she do an exceptional job breathing life into our FMC, who I found to be one of the most dynamic and interesting characters I’ve read of late, but the audio manages to amp up the dark, gritty, and creepy atmosphere to another level. Immersive reading (pairing the physical or ebook with the audiobook) is the best way to go with this new release.
Read if you like:
▪️paranormal elements
▪️historical fiction
▪️strong FMCs
▪️New Orleans setting
▪️atmospheric reads
▪️heavier themes of racism and “passing”
Thank you Berkley Pub and PRH Audio for the advanced copies.
October 14, 2024
Interesting idea but very slow and repetitive at times.
The theme of “forgiveness sets us free” was disturbing as most of the characters in this book were monstrous, murderous and maiming.
The characters all sounded alike and were underdeveloped.
The theme of “forgiveness sets us free” was disturbing as most of the characters in this book were monstrous, murderous and maiming.
The characters all sounded alike and were underdeveloped.
October 29, 2024
I was super excited about this book and it didn’t live up to that. There’s nothing wrong with this but it’s just average. It felt predictable and had a pacing issue. The atmosphere is basically nonexistent which sucks considering the setting. I liked the commentary on race and generational trauma.
August 1, 2025
All the pieces of an engaging Southern Gothic ghost story fail to come together to make a curse more powerful than the words that uttered it. The set-up for this story is interesting, and the world-building, while limited, is effective. I enjoyed the mix of characters and overall story, but nothing about it stood out in any way, and given the amount of story here it felt like it would have been a much stronger novella. The characters were all defined by more or less one trait, and we never really got a chance to experience any interiority. The whole story stays with one perspective in this tight-third person where we are always being told what characters are feeling or thinking without ever really getting any meaningful access to it. This made it hard to feel the turmoil of the main character, or any of the characters, really, and instead just see how they moved in circles but never advanced themselves (or the plot) at anything beyond a glacial pace. The flat characters wouldn’t have bothered me as much if the story moved faster, or at least there were different obstacles throughout. Instead, there was really one obstacle, one that everyone refused to do anything about, and the characters just twiddled their metaphorical thumbs as they made the same lack of decisions again and again. The reveals of the end were pretty easy to assume form early on, but that wouldn’t have hampered the novel if I felt like the characters were actually making progress to uncover the waiting answers, but no one did. I appreciate that the ancillary characters are themselves stuck, that is part of their emotional make-up, but the main character just kept making foolish, unrealistic decisions after unrealistic decision, everything she could do to avoid solving the mystery too quickly. She does have some character growth but it is all in a flash at the end, and while where she ends up is a natural place for her journey to bring her it was painfully abrupt, again I think in large part because of how little interiority we got for her character, we were just talked at about her. As long as I am being critical I will say that everything felt way too easy, and remarkably unearned. I appreciate the power of forgiveness but the role it played felt so heavy-handed and forced, weaponizing the emotion instead of actually letting it be liberatory. The curse, the mystery, the secrets, while they were all clever enough none were hard to see from the early part of the book, and if there were a more complicated scaffolding of character interiority, lusher atmosphere leaning into the gothic-ness of everything, and a more tightly-paced plot then the story could have still felt exciting.
I appreciated the ideas that it was tackling, although it handled some better than others, with some being a simplistic engagement with heavy issues. The story isn’t just asking questions about racism, colorism, and classism, all of which are important elements, but more importantly exploring family legacy, secrets, emotional violence, stagnancy, social justice, confidence, acceptance, penance, knowing yourself, inner freedom, and forgiveness. This assembly of emotional and social issues works well together, and the story and setting do work as a great backdrop to explore this mélange. I think the story is ambitious and some of the writing and editing did not quite live up to the breadth of ideas the story has but it was still a decent read and if you enjoy southern gothic stories from an unapologetic Black perspective then you might find something to enjoy here.
(Rounded up from 2.5)
I appreciated the ideas that it was tackling, although it handled some better than others, with some being a simplistic engagement with heavy issues. The story isn’t just asking questions about racism, colorism, and classism, all of which are important elements, but more importantly exploring family legacy, secrets, emotional violence, stagnancy, social justice, confidence, acceptance, penance, knowing yourself, inner freedom, and forgiveness. This assembly of emotional and social issues works well together, and the story and setting do work as a great backdrop to explore this mélange. I think the story is ambitious and some of the writing and editing did not quite live up to the breadth of ideas the story has but it was still a decent read and if you enjoy southern gothic stories from an unapologetic Black perspective then you might find something to enjoy here.
(Rounded up from 2.5)
January 31, 2025
3.75. I was JUMPING for JOY at Jemma’s triumphant ending! She found her truth and her worth and strength she didn’t know was in her. Empowering !
My initial reaction: this family is a mess!!! But it becomes so much more than that, so many layers develop as you flip through the pages. Beautiful writing and imagery, by the first chapter you’re immediately drawn in. The historical backdrop of the story added an interesting factor, real and raw, while being full of tension and family secrets, dark history and curses and ghost.
Loved it!
My initial reaction: this family is a mess!!! But it becomes so much more than that, so many layers develop as you flip through the pages. Beautiful writing and imagery, by the first chapter you’re immediately drawn in. The historical backdrop of the story added an interesting factor, real and raw, while being full of tension and family secrets, dark history and curses and ghost.
Loved it!
Read
January 2, 2025dnf @ 20%
I don't know what it was, but the writing wasn't working for me at all. Also, I'm hesitant to say this since I didn't finish the book, but by the point I reached, there were no horror elements AT ALL. I've seen a ton of negative reviews saying this was poorly marketed and miscategorized, and my first impression left me inclined to agree.
I don't know what it was, but the writing wasn't working for me at all. Also, I'm hesitant to say this since I didn't finish the book, but by the point I reached, there were no horror elements AT ALL. I've seen a ton of negative reviews saying this was poorly marketed and miscategorized, and my first impression left me inclined to agree.
January 5, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
What an incredibly disturbing family. I wanted to enjoy this book more but something about the main characters refusal to leave these horrid people behind stopped me from doing so. I can’t even begin to explain how twisted these people were.
Our main character, Jemma, is looking to start over. Running from her past she accepts a job in New Orleans with a wealthy family. Unbeknownst to Jemma this family (who is black but looks white) is cursed! It’s a southern gothic novel y’all and ish gets WEIRD. Extremely atmospheric, this book discusses racism, colorism, slavery,family trauma (like you’ve never seen before) and self discovery. I can see this being a perfect read for the summer months but would highly recommend you save it for the spooky fall season.
What an incredibly disturbing family. I wanted to enjoy this book more but something about the main characters refusal to leave these horrid people behind stopped me from doing so. I can’t even begin to explain how twisted these people were.
Our main character, Jemma, is looking to start over. Running from her past she accepts a job in New Orleans with a wealthy family. Unbeknownst to Jemma this family (who is black but looks white) is cursed! It’s a southern gothic novel y’all and ish gets WEIRD. Extremely atmospheric, this book discusses racism, colorism, slavery,family trauma (like you’ve never seen before) and self discovery. I can see this being a perfect read for the summer months but would highly recommend you save it for the spooky fall season.
December 19, 2024
forgive & forget???????? don’t make me sick!
rage and revenge more like. because what the fuck was that pathetic kumbaya slop??? the author needs to get so fucking real and fast. pmo bad lmao
anyway. the book. meh. mentions of ghosts, curses, and a crumbling mansion does not a spooky tale make.
my initial impression that the cover looked badly designed and the title uninspired, was a sign. & i should’ve listened to myself.
because this was ass.
didn’t expect this to be genre defining or incredible like hill house, which id recently read and was, admittedly, comparing this to, but i did expect something interesting if not good. instead, i was presented with an underwritten yet dragged out novel that never took advantage of its premise, setting, or characters. and idgi. the pieces were all laid out and the intro setup something interesting, but then it settled into shallow, boring nothingness that sloppily gestured at a lot of horror and racial elements rather than engage with those tropes in any meaningful way.
& while the generic aspect of this book could be attributed to the astoundingly stupid main character—never have i seen a woman with such little self preservation and common sense. like those beige bullies hated her so bad and were unrepentant, incurious, pieces of shit—and yet she’s begging & slaving down 24/7 because…family? girl fuck that! had they been written with some nuance maybe id get it but these were full on villains—brother was vile and deserved to die & almost all the women were disappointingly conniving, bitches but the cabin lady who bordered on a negro guide & the mom, who was a useless, snivelling bore. post curse trauma or not, the way she was characterized just fell so flat.
but the writing! goodness. superrr young adult, even veering into middle grade affectation at times. just endless cliche and repetition and and terribly delivered exposition. also the characterizations are weak & only a step above caricature (good and evil and no in-between??? what happened to depth & complexity???????) and the setting? LOL. window dressing to the max. because other than a couple of references to racism and random old school phrases the author forced in there, there really was no need for this to be set in the 60s.
i think the author went with it because she wanted to push the color stuck angle but there are coonish, colorist light skins sucking up air in this day and age lmao so idk why she didn’t just make this modern. maybe she thought the era made things scarier? idk but it didn’t work. after the first few chapters i just wanted to fast forward to the end but i was listening to this as a backdrop to my chores so i stuck it out. bad decision. the answers weren’t the worst but they damn sure weren’t worth it.
waste of a credit for sure.
rage and revenge more like. because what the fuck was that pathetic kumbaya slop??? the author needs to get so fucking real and fast. pmo bad lmao
anyway. the book. meh. mentions of ghosts, curses, and a crumbling mansion does not a spooky tale make.
my initial impression that the cover looked badly designed and the title uninspired, was a sign. & i should’ve listened to myself.
because this was ass.
didn’t expect this to be genre defining or incredible like hill house, which id recently read and was, admittedly, comparing this to, but i did expect something interesting if not good. instead, i was presented with an underwritten yet dragged out novel that never took advantage of its premise, setting, or characters. and idgi. the pieces were all laid out and the intro setup something interesting, but then it settled into shallow, boring nothingness that sloppily gestured at a lot of horror and racial elements rather than engage with those tropes in any meaningful way.
& while the generic aspect of this book could be attributed to the astoundingly stupid main character—never have i seen a woman with such little self preservation and common sense. like those beige bullies hated her so bad and were unrepentant, incurious, pieces of shit—and yet she’s begging & slaving down 24/7 because…family? girl fuck that! had they been written with some nuance maybe id get it but these were full on villains—brother was vile and deserved to die & almost all the women were disappointingly conniving, bitches but the cabin lady who bordered on a negro guide & the mom, who was a useless, snivelling bore. post curse trauma or not, the way she was characterized just fell so flat.
but the writing! goodness. superrr young adult, even veering into middle grade affectation at times. just endless cliche and repetition and and terribly delivered exposition. also the characterizations are weak & only a step above caricature (good and evil and no in-between??? what happened to depth & complexity???????) and the setting? LOL. window dressing to the max. because other than a couple of references to racism and random old school phrases the author forced in there, there really was no need for this to be set in the 60s.
i think the author went with it because she wanted to push the color stuck angle but there are coonish, colorist light skins sucking up air in this day and age lmao so idk why she didn’t just make this modern. maybe she thought the era made things scarier? idk but it didn’t work. after the first few chapters i just wanted to fast forward to the end but i was listening to this as a backdrop to my chores so i stuck it out. bad decision. the answers weren’t the worst but they damn sure weren’t worth it.
waste of a credit for sure.
November 11, 2024
An eerie, emotional, and disturbing book. Absolutely loved it and would recommend.
February 10, 2025
In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.
It's 1962, and Jemma Baker is leaving Chicago to start a new life. She had been working as a teacher and living with the man she loved, but that all changed when he started an affair with another woman, who is now pregnant. Then Things started changing for Jemma. She lost her job ...then tried to commit suicide. Now she is trying to pull herself together and had placed an ad in the paper hoping to find work as a tutor. She received an offer of employment from the wealthy Duchon family in Louisiana with a more than generous salary... but she never asked for details about the job.
Traveling to Louisiana was a shock for Jemma. She's an African American woman... she had always felt safe and accepted in Chicago, but Jim Crow laws were still in force in the deep South, and our Jemma encountered segregation for the first time in her life.
Once she arrived at her new employers, the Duchons’...she encounters a fading antebellum mansion, and strangely discovers there are no children in the family. Who is she supposed to tutor? It was then that she realizes that it was never exactly clear just what she had been hired to do. Be warned that this story deeply explores the topics of racism and slavery, but also, it also explores family, and forgiveness. The author has produced the perfect "Southern Gothic" tale that is both chilling and suspenseful.
The Duchon family is eerily, in their own way, beautiful, but at the same time creepy. They dress in outdated clothes...they never leave the house or the grounds. They are literally "ruled" by the matriarch, Honorine. The household consists of her widowed son and daughter, two grandchildren in their twenties, and the maid, Agnes, who is mute. They refer to themselves as being “colored” although they are perfectly able to pass as white. They say they are proud of their "Black heritage" but they view darker-skinned Jemma as being racially inferior. Jemma doesn't know what to make of them or her new "job". She decides that the family is just reclusive.
Then she discovers that many of the family members have died at regular intervals, and there are sinister explanations for why they have been "trapped" in the house for twenty-seven years...and more so that she learns that she is now expected to somehow resolve this so the family can once again go out into the world.
I liked Jemma. She is a character that is strong and resourceful. It’s not always clear what motivated her to try and help this strange family when they treated her so badly. She discovers that she has a strong link to them that goes back to her birth. She has the ability to see the many, many ghosts in the house. This is the only thing that actually made the story eerie. I wish this aspect could have been played up more to add to the already strange atmosphere. The Duchon family is selfish and insular, they have weird behavior and their relationships with each other is strange. This only adds to the unsettling undercurrents in the house. Ghosts, curses, long-hidden secrets, and a horrific and shameful history of slavery all contribute to the atmosphere of this novel. It’s not an intense, terror-packed novel by any means. I would call it a slow burn sinister tale, totally based on a very intriguing premise.
It's 1962, and Jemma Baker is leaving Chicago to start a new life. She had been working as a teacher and living with the man she loved, but that all changed when he started an affair with another woman, who is now pregnant. Then Things started changing for Jemma. She lost her job ...then tried to commit suicide. Now she is trying to pull herself together and had placed an ad in the paper hoping to find work as a tutor. She received an offer of employment from the wealthy Duchon family in Louisiana with a more than generous salary... but she never asked for details about the job.
Traveling to Louisiana was a shock for Jemma. She's an African American woman... she had always felt safe and accepted in Chicago, but Jim Crow laws were still in force in the deep South, and our Jemma encountered segregation for the first time in her life.
Once she arrived at her new employers, the Duchons’...she encounters a fading antebellum mansion, and strangely discovers there are no children in the family. Who is she supposed to tutor? It was then that she realizes that it was never exactly clear just what she had been hired to do. Be warned that this story deeply explores the topics of racism and slavery, but also, it also explores family, and forgiveness. The author has produced the perfect "Southern Gothic" tale that is both chilling and suspenseful.
The Duchon family is eerily, in their own way, beautiful, but at the same time creepy. They dress in outdated clothes...they never leave the house or the grounds. They are literally "ruled" by the matriarch, Honorine. The household consists of her widowed son and daughter, two grandchildren in their twenties, and the maid, Agnes, who is mute. They refer to themselves as being “colored” although they are perfectly able to pass as white. They say they are proud of their "Black heritage" but they view darker-skinned Jemma as being racially inferior. Jemma doesn't know what to make of them or her new "job". She decides that the family is just reclusive.
Then she discovers that many of the family members have died at regular intervals, and there are sinister explanations for why they have been "trapped" in the house for twenty-seven years...and more so that she learns that she is now expected to somehow resolve this so the family can once again go out into the world.
I liked Jemma. She is a character that is strong and resourceful. It’s not always clear what motivated her to try and help this strange family when they treated her so badly. She discovers that she has a strong link to them that goes back to her birth. She has the ability to see the many, many ghosts in the house. This is the only thing that actually made the story eerie. I wish this aspect could have been played up more to add to the already strange atmosphere. The Duchon family is selfish and insular, they have weird behavior and their relationships with each other is strange. This only adds to the unsettling undercurrents in the house. Ghosts, curses, long-hidden secrets, and a horrific and shameful history of slavery all contribute to the atmosphere of this novel. It’s not an intense, terror-packed novel by any means. I would call it a slow burn sinister tale, totally based on a very intriguing premise.
December 29, 2024
A slow-burn that was worth every minute‼️ I don’t typically do gothic fiction just because the last few I’ve read left me like WTF and not in a good way . . . (cough,cough) House of Cotton. But this book was nothing short of amazing to me. It’s a slow-paced horror where the suspense continues to build with each chapter.
Now was this book scary not at all but the Dechon’s oh they were horror-ible people with a past darker than their skin tone. The self-hate ran so deep they’d do anything in their power to “keep it in the family.” Do with that what you will . . . .
Torn between the terrors (ghosts) in Chicago and a little curiosity Jemma accepts the offer to work for the Dechon family. But her new role would become both a gift and a curse. I kept thinking girl you should’ve stayed at home.
This book was so crazy yet so good. The Dechon’s were a little odd like the Addams family but with meaner spirts. They were a special kind of people is all I can say.
What really got me were the secrets and boy they had a lot of them. But also Jemma’s ability to see and communicate with spirits, breaking the family curse, the housemaid . . . the lady in the woods . . . the trapped souls . . . the baby corpse. . . confinement to the house . . . and being a descendant of murderers just plot twist after plot twist.
Overall, the book was great the author explored some heavy themes in this one. If slow-burn southern gothic horror is your thing you’ll enjoy this book.
Now was this book scary not at all but the Dechon’s oh they were horror-ible people with a past darker than their skin tone. The self-hate ran so deep they’d do anything in their power to “keep it in the family.” Do with that what you will . . . .
Torn between the terrors (ghosts) in Chicago and a little curiosity Jemma accepts the offer to work for the Dechon family. But her new role would become both a gift and a curse. I kept thinking girl you should’ve stayed at home.
This book was so crazy yet so good. The Dechon’s were a little odd like the Addams family but with meaner spirts. They were a special kind of people is all I can say.
What really got me were the secrets and boy they had a lot of them. But also Jemma’s ability to see and communicate with spirits, breaking the family curse, the housemaid . . . the lady in the woods . . . the trapped souls . . . the baby corpse. . . confinement to the house . . . and being a descendant of murderers just plot twist after plot twist.
Overall, the book was great the author explored some heavy themes in this one. If slow-burn southern gothic horror is your thing you’ll enjoy this book.
November 6, 2024
Well, it has all the elements of a great gothic horror story: curses, ghosts, generational trauma, family secrets. But the execution is poor. If I'm reading a gothic horror story, I want to be at least a little scared. Or disturbed. Or anxious. The plot of the story is disturbing, don't get me wrong, but it's surface-level. The author doesn't build atmosphere so everything just falls flat. Atmosphere is so important to gothic fiction, and an old house in 1960s New Orleans could make such a great atmosphere. But often I forgot I was in the 1960s or that I was in New Orleans.
The big secrets Jemma discovers didn't make me feel anything. So many things are just brushed off, and it happens repeatedly. In the beginning we learn Jemma just had a mental breakdown and tried to kill herself. But other than that prompting her to take a job in New Orleans, it really doesn't impact the story or her character. An important death feels quickly forgotten by all the characters, which was hard for me to accept. The reveal around Fosette's character is never really mentioned again and really plays no role in the story except to make you say, "that's weird." Even that reveal should make the reader feel something stronger, but it's mentioned so briefly and at that point I was already checked out so it didn't make the impact it could've.
Honestly, at no point was I shocked or horrified. I really didn't feel anything at all. I think that's due to two things. 1. The characters felt so two-dimensional. The mean aunt, the cold grandmother, the loony cousin, etc. No one really grew as a character. 2. The intense scenes ended before suspense could even finish building, leaving me feeling disappointed. The rest of the story dragged.
So to sum up: there's a good idea for a story here, it just could've been executed better.
The big secrets Jemma discovers didn't make me feel anything. So many things are just brushed off, and it happens repeatedly. In the beginning we learn Jemma just had a mental breakdown and tried to kill herself. But other than that prompting her to take a job in New Orleans, it really doesn't impact the story or her character. An important death feels quickly forgotten by all the characters, which was hard for me to accept. The reveal around Fosette's character is never really mentioned again and really plays no role in the story except to make you say, "that's weird." Even that reveal should make the reader feel something stronger, but it's mentioned so briefly and at that point I was already checked out so it didn't make the impact it could've.
Honestly, at no point was I shocked or horrified. I really didn't feel anything at all. I think that's due to two things. 1. The characters felt so two-dimensional. The mean aunt, the cold grandmother, the loony cousin, etc. No one really grew as a character. 2. The intense scenes ended before suspense could even finish building, leaving me feeling disappointed. The rest of the story dragged.
So to sum up: there's a good idea for a story here, it just could've been executed better.
October 7, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for a pre-release copy of This Cursed House. Below is my honest review.
Now that was a fun debut novel! I'm a big fan of gothic horror, and This Cursed House delivered. Was it perfect? No. There were some places where the story felt like it was hitting the same beat a few times in repetition, and during the first few chapters, the repeated use of "hazel eye" descriptions pulled me out of the story a bit. But it was a great novel nonetheless. I wanted to know what was going on, and hung on to every word in hopes of figuring it out, craving just another supernatural moment.
This book also made me feel very uncomfortable, but in a good way. As a white person, it's sometimes easy to forget the historical systemic issues surrounding race, and how that celebration of whiteness and devaluation of blackness even affected how lighter-skinned Black people treated darker-skinned ones. While being set in the past, this novel did a great job of reminding us that while some things might have gotten better, we still have a long way to go in repairing the damage caused by racism and slavery.
All in all, a great read, and I look forward to Del Sandeen's next book! Definitely recommended for fans of Southern gothic horror (light horror, really).
Now that was a fun debut novel! I'm a big fan of gothic horror, and This Cursed House delivered. Was it perfect? No. There were some places where the story felt like it was hitting the same beat a few times in repetition, and during the first few chapters, the repeated use of "hazel eye" descriptions pulled me out of the story a bit. But it was a great novel nonetheless. I wanted to know what was going on, and hung on to every word in hopes of figuring it out, craving just another supernatural moment.
This book also made me feel very uncomfortable, but in a good way. As a white person, it's sometimes easy to forget the historical systemic issues surrounding race, and how that celebration of whiteness and devaluation of blackness even affected how lighter-skinned Black people treated darker-skinned ones. While being set in the past, this novel did a great job of reminding us that while some things might have gotten better, we still have a long way to go in repairing the damage caused by racism and slavery.
All in all, a great read, and I look forward to Del Sandeen's next book! Definitely recommended for fans of Southern gothic horror (light horror, really).
October 14, 2024
This one had such great potential, but it ended disappointing me. Sounds good, I was hoping I’ll read something creepy and spooky, with a haunted house and a lot of ghosts and a great mystery. But it’s about generational trauma, racism, lies and a shitty family.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still enjoyable and you should read it if you’re not the scary stories type. I couldn’t care about any of the characters, they were mean and rude and awful. They don’t have any kind of development and empathy. I couldn’t even care about the main character, I just found her very people pleasing. No matter what the family did to her, she just went back to them until the end.
It doesn’t have any atmosphere to make me interested in it. The “curse” and its resolve are anti climactic and meh and the ending was just.. decent.
Also, you don’t have to forgive people who wronged you. If they’re shitty people, don’t forgive them. Just leave and that’s all.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still enjoyable and you should read it if you’re not the scary stories type. I couldn’t care about any of the characters, they were mean and rude and awful. They don’t have any kind of development and empathy. I couldn’t even care about the main character, I just found her very people pleasing. No matter what the family did to her, she just went back to them until the end.
It doesn’t have any atmosphere to make me interested in it. The “curse” and its resolve are anti climactic and meh and the ending was just.. decent.
Also, you don’t have to forgive people who wronged you. If they’re shitty people, don’t forgive them. Just leave and that’s all.
Read
November 2, 2024🗝️ Southern Gothic
🗝️ A family curse
🗝️ Ghosts
🗝️ Generational trauma
🗝️ Dysfunctional family
🗝️ Racism
The family in this novel is just horrible. They’re fun to hate. The creepy factor is very mild, so anyone interested in the historical fiction narrative of a Black family living in 1960s New Orleans can read this without fear. I picked it up hoping for a Southern ghost story, but it was missing the atmospheric details I was looking for, and I found it difficult to root for the main character when she let people walk all over her and her mother. I enjoyed the research she did to break the family curse. It felt like all the pieces were there, but they just didn’t come together to create the fluid pacing and dramatic scenes I craved. The audiobook narration was very good.
🗝️ A family curse
🗝️ Ghosts
🗝️ Generational trauma
🗝️ Dysfunctional family
🗝️ Racism
The family in this novel is just horrible. They’re fun to hate. The creepy factor is very mild, so anyone interested in the historical fiction narrative of a Black family living in 1960s New Orleans can read this without fear. I picked it up hoping for a Southern ghost story, but it was missing the atmospheric details I was looking for, and I found it difficult to root for the main character when she let people walk all over her and her mother. I enjoyed the research she did to break the family curse. It felt like all the pieces were there, but they just didn’t come together to create the fluid pacing and dramatic scenes I craved. The audiobook narration was very good.
November 30, 2024
This Cursed House is the story of a woman who runs down to New Orleans to make a new life for herself as the tutor for a wealthy family and gets more than she bargained for when it comes to the secrets and the curse that binds them to their family home.
This is one of those books that started out strong and then lost it's way in the second half. I was enthralled at first, excited to learn the new twists and share in Jemma's disgust. But ultimately I couldn't understand her motivation for wanting to be apart of this family. This would've made for a better novella as it peaked early and became quiet redundant after that.
Full review below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
This is one of those books that started out strong and then lost it's way in the second half. I was enthralled at first, excited to learn the new twists and share in Jemma's disgust. But ultimately I couldn't understand her motivation for wanting to be apart of this family. This would've made for a better novella as it peaked early and became quiet redundant after that.
Full review below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
October 25, 2024
What an atmospheric, just a bit spooky, southern gothic tale. It’s set in 1960’s New Orleans during the horrific Jim Crow Laws. The “black passing as white” Duchon family are haunted by a curse driven by a (passed on🤔) member of their own. Under false pretense they bring Jemma, a young black woman from Chicago, to their aging plantation to work for them. They soon reveal the true reason she was brought there, it’s to remove their curse.. but.. there’s SO MUCH MORE to it. The familys secrets keep tallying up, getting darker and twistier. What’s Jemma to do but use her smarts, strong sense of self, and adaptability to solve this decades old mystery. Sandeen wrote of colorism, including how the Duchons’ looked down on darker skin, Jemma included. And then we have Jemma herself seeing spirits/haints in the house - yikes, but this is an ability she’s had her entire life that scares her. 4.5 stars — Pub. 10/8/24
August 13, 2025
3.5 stars
Video review - sorry about the audio: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6H6Foae/
Video review - sorry about the audio: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6H6Foae/
November 26, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ (Rounded up for representation)
I love a Southern gothic haunted house story! This one includes historical context and the socio-political elements that I look for in my novels. However there’s just something missing in the writing that prevented me from enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. It’s certainly a worthwhile read but doesn’t pack enough punch to make my list of favorites or preferred recommendations.
I love a Southern gothic haunted house story! This one includes historical context and the socio-political elements that I look for in my novels. However there’s just something missing in the writing that prevented me from enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. It’s certainly a worthwhile read but doesn’t pack enough punch to make my list of favorites or preferred recommendations.
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