What do you think?
Rate this book
Ghost Month
Full of wit, heart and charm, Ghost Month asks a timeless do we only value life when we are reminded that it will end?
Perhaps you've already noticed little things, strange details. A shadow not attached to anything. A face in a window which might be a trick of the light. They come at dusk. Today.
Every September, the spirits of the dead return before vanishing four weeks later in a puff of green ash.
The haunting has become a holiday - part Christmas, part Halloween. The ghosts aren't real in any way that can hurt you, but their presence unearths an annual reckoning with the past. It's hard to tell the silent spectres from ashen they linger on train platforms, they crowd buses, they take up space on your sofa. The proper term these days is 'people without pulses'.
This year, four strangers prepare for a visit from their dearly departed. The season forces them to confront all the things that haunt them, not just their dead. As suppressed truths emerge from the shadows, each of them will end Ghost Month changed in ways they never imagined. Happy Haunting.
Perhaps you've already noticed little things, strange details. A shadow not attached to anything. A face in a window which might be a trick of the light. They come at dusk. Today.
Every September, the spirits of the dead return before vanishing four weeks later in a puff of green ash.
The haunting has become a holiday - part Christmas, part Halloween. The ghosts aren't real in any way that can hurt you, but their presence unearths an annual reckoning with the past. It's hard to tell the silent spectres from ashen they linger on train platforms, they crowd buses, they take up space on your sofa. The proper term these days is 'people without pulses'.
This year, four strangers prepare for a visit from their dearly departed. The season forces them to confront all the things that haunt them, not just their dead. As suppressed truths emerge from the shadows, each of them will end Ghost Month changed in ways they never imagined. Happy Haunting.
- GenresFiction
357 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 20, 2026
Review of advanced copy from Netgalley
What if your loved ones were able to come back as ghosts? Not long term, but for a month every year? What if your judgemental mother is hung around you just watching? What if those people who really know what happened follow you around? What if your daughter won't even see you? That's what Ghost Month seeks to answer and I think it does a brilliant job.
Simon Wroe uses this a format to explore a range of different types of grief and how we respond to it. When you lose someone all you want is to see them again, but what would they think of you, and how would they fit into your progressing life?
The more serious elements of the novel are interspersed with comedy elements to keep you going; a favourite was "We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the cars" (I could make a joke here about murder your darlings but it feels a bit on the nose."
This was a sneaky one for me, on the surface of it Ghost Month is just a novel about ghosts disrupting the world temporarily, and I was expecting more of a comedy. There are also a range of intertwining characters who are introduced quite quickly so it took me a minute to work out who everyone was. But when I did, the novel unfurled as a touching story of helping one another through life and death.
Thanks again to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for this ARC.
What if your loved ones were able to come back as ghosts? Not long term, but for a month every year? What if your judgemental mother is hung around you just watching? What if those people who really know what happened follow you around? What if your daughter won't even see you? That's what Ghost Month seeks to answer and I think it does a brilliant job.
Simon Wroe uses this a format to explore a range of different types of grief and how we respond to it. When you lose someone all you want is to see them again, but what would they think of you, and how would they fit into your progressing life?
The more serious elements of the novel are interspersed with comedy elements to keep you going; a favourite was "We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the cars" (I could make a joke here about murder your darlings but it feels a bit on the nose."
This was a sneaky one for me, on the surface of it Ghost Month is just a novel about ghosts disrupting the world temporarily, and I was expecting more of a comedy. There are also a range of intertwining characters who are introduced quite quickly so it took me a minute to work out who everyone was. But when I did, the novel unfurled as a touching story of helping one another through life and death.
Thanks again to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for this ARC.
May 8, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC of this book!
***
I've come away from my reading of Ghost Month with pretty mixed feelings, ultimately landing at 3/5 stars.
What really worked for me was the structure: the multiple storylines, distinct characters, and the slow, careful reveal of how their lives were interconnected. I especially appreciated that the connections weren’t overly neat or forced, which made everything feel more natural. Each character was given just enough depth to keep me invested without overshadowing the others, and the differing writing styles helped each perspective feel unique. The subtle world building was another strength - it didn’t over-explain itself, which gave the story an atmospheric, slice-of-life quality that I enjoyed. Once I hit around the 75% mark, I genuinely didn’t want to put it down.
That said, the book took a while to hook me. The opening was quite slow, and if I hadn’t been reading this as an ARC, I’m not sure I would’ve pushed through the first quarter. The section breaks with chapter numbering resets also felt unnecessary and a little disruptive. My biggest disappointment was the use of ghosts themselves—they often felt passive or incidental rather than essential, which made their presence seem underutilised given the premise.
The ending was probably my biggest frustration. After investing so much in these characters, I was left wanting far more closure. So many storylines felt unresolved, with little real sense of justice, payoff, or emotional crescendo. An epilogue - perhaps set a year later - could have significantly strengthened the ending and offered the closure the book was missing.
Overall, Ghost Month had compelling characters, strong pacing in its latter half, and an intriguing narrative style, but its slow start and unfinished-feeling conclusion kept it from fully delivering for me. I enjoyed it enough to talk about it, but not necessarily enough to strongly recommend it.
***
I've come away from my reading of Ghost Month with pretty mixed feelings, ultimately landing at 3/5 stars.
What really worked for me was the structure: the multiple storylines, distinct characters, and the slow, careful reveal of how their lives were interconnected. I especially appreciated that the connections weren’t overly neat or forced, which made everything feel more natural. Each character was given just enough depth to keep me invested without overshadowing the others, and the differing writing styles helped each perspective feel unique. The subtle world building was another strength - it didn’t over-explain itself, which gave the story an atmospheric, slice-of-life quality that I enjoyed. Once I hit around the 75% mark, I genuinely didn’t want to put it down.
That said, the book took a while to hook me. The opening was quite slow, and if I hadn’t been reading this as an ARC, I’m not sure I would’ve pushed through the first quarter. The section breaks with chapter numbering resets also felt unnecessary and a little disruptive. My biggest disappointment was the use of ghosts themselves—they often felt passive or incidental rather than essential, which made their presence seem underutilised given the premise.
The ending was probably my biggest frustration. After investing so much in these characters, I was left wanting far more closure. So many storylines felt unresolved, with little real sense of justice, payoff, or emotional crescendo. An epilogue - perhaps set a year later - could have significantly strengthened the ending and offered the closure the book was missing.
Overall, Ghost Month had compelling characters, strong pacing in its latter half, and an intriguing narrative style, but its slow start and unfinished-feeling conclusion kept it from fully delivering for me. I enjoyed it enough to talk about it, but not necessarily enough to strongly recommend it.
May 15, 2026
With thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the ARC.
Every September the ghosts return to Earth for one month. They can’t speak to you and they can’t touch you. They can’t hurt you physically but they can hurt you emotionally. They force you to confront your demons and deal with things you would rather not have to face. Nobody knows why they started to return and nobody knows what they want.
As soon as I saw the blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it. I love all things spooky. I wasn’t prepared for how much of a rollercoaster of emotions this would take me on though. The book covers a lot of heavy issues – abandonment, grief, poverty, homelessness, guilt to name a few but this is dealt with in a human and sometimes humorous way.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it when I first picked it up as it has a very slow start but it is one of those books that slowly sucks you in and takes over. I’m glad I am one of those people who can never stop reading a book as I would have missed out on something that turned out to be pretty special.
The main plus about Ghost Month is the clever way the lives of each of the main characters become more intertwined as the pages turn. The connections are not forced and have been delivered in a way that does not seem unbelievable. Some of the characters I hated (Gideon) and some I was fighting for the whole way through (Jane and Eddie). However, I ended up smiling at every single character’s ending once the ghosts disappeared. Lil’s story in particular had me sobbing – I was rooting for her the whole way through and her ending is so heartwarming.
The thing that lets the book down for me is the ending. It is very abrupt, but so is the end of Ghost Month itself so I felt that this may have been international on the part of the author. The storylines are neatly rounded up but I was still left with a few questions and I feel like Jane’s ending in particular could have been given a more in-depth description as she never uses the words she should have to let her mother’s ghost know who she really is – I do suspect that her mother knew this though and just wanted her daughter to finally open up to her.
Overall, Ghost Month is a beautifully written and original story. I really wanted to give it 5 starts but, due to the ending feeling a little flat, I ultimately settled on a solid 4.
I’d love there to be a sequel so we can see how each person has fared over the course of the year when the ghosts return (or if they return for some of them).
Every September the ghosts return to Earth for one month. They can’t speak to you and they can’t touch you. They can’t hurt you physically but they can hurt you emotionally. They force you to confront your demons and deal with things you would rather not have to face. Nobody knows why they started to return and nobody knows what they want.
As soon as I saw the blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it. I love all things spooky. I wasn’t prepared for how much of a rollercoaster of emotions this would take me on though. The book covers a lot of heavy issues – abandonment, grief, poverty, homelessness, guilt to name a few but this is dealt with in a human and sometimes humorous way.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it when I first picked it up as it has a very slow start but it is one of those books that slowly sucks you in and takes over. I’m glad I am one of those people who can never stop reading a book as I would have missed out on something that turned out to be pretty special.
The main plus about Ghost Month is the clever way the lives of each of the main characters become more intertwined as the pages turn. The connections are not forced and have been delivered in a way that does not seem unbelievable. Some of the characters I hated (Gideon) and some I was fighting for the whole way through (Jane and Eddie). However, I ended up smiling at every single character’s ending once the ghosts disappeared. Lil’s story in particular had me sobbing – I was rooting for her the whole way through and her ending is so heartwarming.
The thing that lets the book down for me is the ending. It is very abrupt, but so is the end of Ghost Month itself so I felt that this may have been international on the part of the author. The storylines are neatly rounded up but I was still left with a few questions and I feel like Jane’s ending in particular could have been given a more in-depth description as she never uses the words she should have to let her mother’s ghost know who she really is – I do suspect that her mother knew this though and just wanted her daughter to finally open up to her.
Overall, Ghost Month is a beautifully written and original story. I really wanted to give it 5 starts but, due to the ending feeling a little flat, I ultimately settled on a solid 4.
I’d love there to be a sequel so we can see how each person has fared over the course of the year when the ghosts return (or if they return for some of them).
May 8, 2026
Ghost Month
Simon Wroe
Advance copy gratefully received from NetGalley and Faber and Faber.
Ghost Month is quite a difficult book for me to describe because, overall, I did enjoy reading it and found it extremely readable, but there were moments where my attention drifted and I had to reread sections in order to reconnect.
The premise itself is intriguing: those who have passed away return for a defined period of time during “ghost month.” Why this happens, why that particular amount of time is chosen, and what these entities actually experience during their return is never fully explained. Strangely, I don’t think those answers are the point.
What matters is the impact their presence has on the living.
Throughout the novel there is a shared tragedy connecting the characters, and much of the story explores how different people navigate grief, longing, guilt, avoidance, and redemption. Some desperately want to be visited. Others would rather be left alone entirely.
There are moments of genuinely beautiful writing throughout the book. Certain descriptions felt vivid and emotionally apt without becoming overworked, and there were passages that carried real literary weight.
What ultimately stopped this from becoming a four-star read for me was the ending. Everything was tied together neatly and most of the questions the reader might have had were answered, but emotionally I still felt slightly underwhelmed by it. I think even tidy endings need to leave the reader with something lingering to contemplate, and I personally didn’t feel gifted that final emotional resonance.
I also felt there was one missed opportunity involving a character expressing their sexuality to a family member. The emotional build-up to that moment was strong, which made the decision to gloss over the actual words feel slightly disappointing to me. Courageous moments of self-expression deserve their full emotional weight on the page, particularly when so much vulnerability has led up to them.
That said, I remained motivated to continue reading throughout and I’m glad I stayed with it.
A solid 3.5/5
Simon Wroe
Advance copy gratefully received from NetGalley and Faber and Faber.
Ghost Month is quite a difficult book for me to describe because, overall, I did enjoy reading it and found it extremely readable, but there were moments where my attention drifted and I had to reread sections in order to reconnect.
The premise itself is intriguing: those who have passed away return for a defined period of time during “ghost month.” Why this happens, why that particular amount of time is chosen, and what these entities actually experience during their return is never fully explained. Strangely, I don’t think those answers are the point.
What matters is the impact their presence has on the living.
Throughout the novel there is a shared tragedy connecting the characters, and much of the story explores how different people navigate grief, longing, guilt, avoidance, and redemption. Some desperately want to be visited. Others would rather be left alone entirely.
There are moments of genuinely beautiful writing throughout the book. Certain descriptions felt vivid and emotionally apt without becoming overworked, and there were passages that carried real literary weight.
What ultimately stopped this from becoming a four-star read for me was the ending. Everything was tied together neatly and most of the questions the reader might have had were answered, but emotionally I still felt slightly underwhelmed by it. I think even tidy endings need to leave the reader with something lingering to contemplate, and I personally didn’t feel gifted that final emotional resonance.
I also felt there was one missed opportunity involving a character expressing their sexuality to a family member. The emotional build-up to that moment was strong, which made the decision to gloss over the actual words feel slightly disappointing to me. Courageous moments of self-expression deserve their full emotional weight on the page, particularly when so much vulnerability has led up to them.
That said, I remained motivated to continue reading throughout and I’m glad I stayed with it.
A solid 3.5/5
May 17, 2026
Ghost Month is one of those rare novels that feels both eerie and tender, playful and profound—a story that slips between the living and the dead with a kind of quiet, uncanny grace. From the very first page, there’s this wonderfully strange normalcy to it: ghosts browsing shops, ghosts hogging the sofa, ghosts lingering at makeup counters like bored customers waiting for a shade that no longer exists. They can’t touch you, can’t speak, can’t harm you… and yet their presence unsettles everything.
What gives the book its real power is the way it treats these “people without pulses” not as horrors, but as mirrors. Every September, when the dead return and drift through the world for four brief weeks, the living are forced to reckon with the things they’ve buried—grief, guilt, longing, unfinished conversations. It’s a haunting in the emotional sense, not the supernatural one.
The novel follows four strangers preparing for their own spectral visitors, and each storyline carries its own quiet ache. Their ghosts don’t just stir memories; they tug at the threads of who they’ve become, unravelling secrets and suppressed truths with a gentle but relentless persistence. There’s something beautifully human in the way the book explores regret and connection, how the past lingers even when the people in it no longer can.
Despite the melancholy woven through it, the tone never feels heavy. Instead, it’s atmospheric, wry, and strangely comforting—like a ghost story told with a soft lamp on and a cup of tea cooling beside you. By the end, each character emerges changed, and you’re left with that lingering question: do we only truly value life when we’re reminded it will end?
A quietly luminous, inventive novel that blends the uncanny with the deeply human. It lingers like a whisper long after the final page.
With thanks to Simon Wroe, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
What gives the book its real power is the way it treats these “people without pulses” not as horrors, but as mirrors. Every September, when the dead return and drift through the world for four brief weeks, the living are forced to reckon with the things they’ve buried—grief, guilt, longing, unfinished conversations. It’s a haunting in the emotional sense, not the supernatural one.
The novel follows four strangers preparing for their own spectral visitors, and each storyline carries its own quiet ache. Their ghosts don’t just stir memories; they tug at the threads of who they’ve become, unravelling secrets and suppressed truths with a gentle but relentless persistence. There’s something beautifully human in the way the book explores regret and connection, how the past lingers even when the people in it no longer can.
Despite the melancholy woven through it, the tone never feels heavy. Instead, it’s atmospheric, wry, and strangely comforting—like a ghost story told with a soft lamp on and a cup of tea cooling beside you. By the end, each character emerges changed, and you’re left with that lingering question: do we only truly value life when we’re reminded it will end?
A quietly luminous, inventive novel that blends the uncanny with the deeply human. It lingers like a whisper long after the final page.
With thanks to Simon Wroe, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Imagine if, every September, the dead returned to the modern world. For one month only. Their ghosts wander around Boots, and take up seats on the tube. Sit with you as you eat your dinner, follow you to work, watch you as you go about your daily life. They can't hurt you (they can't even speak to you) but they're always there for a reason. Some of the dead return to the bosom of their families, others are perhaps drawn to a particular place that meant something to them ... but all of them are hoping to teach you something about yourself ...
GHOST MONTH focuses on four narrators, who each have a special reason for dreading September. There's Jane, who goes to great lengths to gain the approval of her dead mother. Nine year-old Eddie, who feels lost in a family still grieving for his older sibling. Lil, experiencing homelessness and alcoholism, since the death of her daughter, and Gideon, whose flashy lifestyle hides a very dark secret.
This is SUCH a clever story. It's incredibly poignant and exceptionally thought-provoking, not to mention being so superbly plotted that I was in complete awe ... yet it is also darkly humorous (the TfL announcements asking 'wait! think! could this person actually be alive?' The advertisers and marketers jumping on 'ghost month' in the same way they pounce on Valentines and Christmas. Brilliantly done, very funny, and it provides a beautiful balance in this profoundly moving novel.
I loved Simon's previous (award winning) books, and I knew this would be something very special. It's such a wise and moving story, and (if you are anything like me) when you reach the end, a tiny little part of you will wish ghost month was an actual thing ...
GHOST MONTH focuses on four narrators, who each have a special reason for dreading September. There's Jane, who goes to great lengths to gain the approval of her dead mother. Nine year-old Eddie, who feels lost in a family still grieving for his older sibling. Lil, experiencing homelessness and alcoholism, since the death of her daughter, and Gideon, whose flashy lifestyle hides a very dark secret.
This is SUCH a clever story. It's incredibly poignant and exceptionally thought-provoking, not to mention being so superbly plotted that I was in complete awe ... yet it is also darkly humorous (the TfL announcements asking 'wait! think! could this person actually be alive?' The advertisers and marketers jumping on 'ghost month' in the same way they pounce on Valentines and Christmas. Brilliantly done, very funny, and it provides a beautiful balance in this profoundly moving novel.
I loved Simon's previous (award winning) books, and I knew this would be something very special. It's such a wise and moving story, and (if you are anything like me) when you reach the end, a tiny little part of you will wish ghost month was an actual thing ...
June 8, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is the first of Simon's books I've read, but the advanced praise and beautiful cover had me very excited to read it. But it didn't meet all my expectations.
I struggled with it at first. There are a lot of characters and stories to keep up with and so it took me a while to get into it.
It takes a different view on things. A lot of cultures (UK especially) have a "let's not talk about it" view on death, but then you get other cultures who celebrate death. This is something in between. It's not celebrating the dead, if anything it's almost the opposite, but it's also putting it front and centre.
I believe in ghosts, always have, so the idea of ghosts visiting doesn't frighten me, but Simon has achieved an ominous feeling around them.
I did like his way of exploring different forms of grief, how we all react to death differently, and none are better or worse than others. And it's about helping others through loss and bereavement.
I am on the fence with this. I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. I think it would have been better with fewer substories because at times I had completely lost who we were talking about.
It was very slow to begin with, to the point where I was considering DNF-ing it, but I had heard such positive things about it and I wanted to know how it played out. This was one of my most anticipated reads and I was a little disappointed. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good, it was just a bit...meh.
This is the first of Simon's books I've read, but the advanced praise and beautiful cover had me very excited to read it. But it didn't meet all my expectations.
I struggled with it at first. There are a lot of characters and stories to keep up with and so it took me a while to get into it.
It takes a different view on things. A lot of cultures (UK especially) have a "let's not talk about it" view on death, but then you get other cultures who celebrate death. This is something in between. It's not celebrating the dead, if anything it's almost the opposite, but it's also putting it front and centre.
I believe in ghosts, always have, so the idea of ghosts visiting doesn't frighten me, but Simon has achieved an ominous feeling around them.
I did like his way of exploring different forms of grief, how we all react to death differently, and none are better or worse than others. And it's about helping others through loss and bereavement.
I am on the fence with this. I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. I think it would have been better with fewer substories because at times I had completely lost who we were talking about.
It was very slow to begin with, to the point where I was considering DNF-ing it, but I had heard such positive things about it and I wanted to know how it played out. This was one of my most anticipated reads and I was a little disappointed. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good, it was just a bit...meh.
May 27, 2026
For a whole month each September, the dead return to the land of the living to haunt places and people. The ghosts don't talk, they can't touch, but they can make the living look at previous choices and actions whether they want to or not.
In Ghost Month, we follow four distinct characters who go through no little turmoil during this relatively new — and mostly unwelcome — event in the world. The four stories, at first seemingly unconnected, come together in a natural and rather heartbreaking manner.
This novel was rather surprising. Wroe lured the reader in with a great deal of humour and quiet world-building before taking a harder look at grief and the devastation it leaves in its wake. While it would have been easy for Wroe to have the characters spiral into a pit of despair on many occasions, the author skilfully peppered those moments with levity, which made them far more impactful.
Poignant and deeply human, overall I was thoroughly impressed by Ghost Month and look forward to more of Wroe's work on the back of it.
Worth a look.
With thanks to Faber and Faber for the ARC.
In Ghost Month, we follow four distinct characters who go through no little turmoil during this relatively new — and mostly unwelcome — event in the world. The four stories, at first seemingly unconnected, come together in a natural and rather heartbreaking manner.
This novel was rather surprising. Wroe lured the reader in with a great deal of humour and quiet world-building before taking a harder look at grief and the devastation it leaves in its wake. While it would have been easy for Wroe to have the characters spiral into a pit of despair on many occasions, the author skilfully peppered those moments with levity, which made them far more impactful.
Poignant and deeply human, overall I was thoroughly impressed by Ghost Month and look forward to more of Wroe's work on the back of it.
Worth a look.
With thanks to Faber and Faber for the ARC.
May 16, 2026
This is a book is going to stay with me for a very long time to come. The premise of the book is exactly as the title suggests, one day at the start of September the dead come back as ghosts, stay for a month and then disappear as the sun sets on the last day of the month. This novel follows a group of people in London whose lives intersect.
This was a deeply sad book but in an almost medicinal sense. I expect that different people will read it and take different things.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this astounding book in exchange for an honest review. A well deserved five stars
This was a deeply sad book but in an almost medicinal sense. I expect that different people will read it and take different things.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this astounding book in exchange for an honest review. A well deserved five stars
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews