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The Ceiling Man

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A supernatural creature arrives in the small, fictional town of Port Massasauga and sets his sights on Abby, a girl with psychic powers similar to his own, in Lillie’s gripping debut...Lillie sidesteps horror clichés and presents characters who don’t make eye-rolling decisions...horror fans should expect an entertaining novel that’s tough to put down. Publishers Weekly/Booklife

A novel of slow burn horror.

Carole knows there can be no tie between her autistic daughter and the strange events in Port Massasauga. It’s not logical. It’s not possible.

The Ceiling Man has picked up other watchers in his travels, but they all dismissed him as a nightmare. The girl is different. She knows he’s real.

Teenage Abby is an innocent. The stranger only she sees and hears introduces her to evil. When Carole falls under the stranger’s sway, Abby must solve the puzzle of The Ceiling Man and save them both.

Lillie's work is powerful, intense and mindbogglingly good. Her characters are real and believable, and her plot channels the darkness of a truly virulent thunderstorm, complete with a tornado or two tossed in, as evil vies for dominance over innocence amidst a bright blue sky and late afternoon winter sun...Every so often, a debut novel shines so very brightly. The Ceiling Man is one of those rare treasures. Readers' Favorite 5-Star Review

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2017

95 people are currently reading
818 people want to read

About the author

Patricia Lillie

16 books45 followers
Patricia Lillie grew up in a haunted house in a small town in Northeast Ohio. Since then, she has published picture books, short stories, fonts, novels, and a collection of short stories. Her short story collection, The Cuckoo Girls, was a 2020 Bram Stoker Award finalist. As Kay Charles, she writes cozy-ish mysteries with ghosts. She is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and teaches in Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program. She also knits and sometimes purls.

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5 stars
126 (36%)
4 stars
122 (34%)
3 stars
80 (22%)
2 stars
18 (5%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,213 reviews2,340 followers
July 19, 2017
The Ceiling Man by Patricia Lillie is a Kindle Scout book and darn creepy. It is a dark fantasy that grabs you and creeps you out even after it is over. The end is a bit strange but I think the author meant for it to be this way. I don't think, after all the great plotting and planning up to this point she threw in the towel. There is significance to this. Although we never really find out who the Ceiling Man is, it leaves it open for book 2.
123 reviews10 followers
September 22, 2017
Eh... there were some good ideas here, but they were underdeveloped. The mechanics of the whole situation were kinda muddy. Ultimately, I felt like not a lot happened, and by the end, I didn't really care how it played out.
Profile Image for Sara Tantlinger.
Author 68 books388 followers
March 10, 2017
I never thought of ceilings or Little Bunny Foo Foo as terrifying before, but The Ceiling Man certainly changes all of that. Lillie's debut novel expertly builds up tension and dread the deeper into Abby's world we dive. Each character's unique viewpoint offers complete immersion into their lives, which results in a novel that hooks its bleeding claws deep into its audience and refuses to let go until the very end. Bravo.
Profile Image for Cheyenne.
594 reviews11 followers
November 1, 2018
This was an interesting horror book in which a murderous spirit of sorts comes to town and Abby, a girl with autism, is actually able to communicate with him, but lacks the words to properly explain what's going on to her family.

While I was intrigued by this story, I was also a little worried at first that it would use the autism as a gimmick, but I actually thought this book's portrayal was very respectful and interesting. From my admittedly limited exposure to ASD, the portrayal felt realistic and well-researched. Abby also had a wonderful, supportive family, and her interactions with others in her community varied realistically, featuring some individuals who were more understanding than others.

I also enjoyed some of the other characters, particularly the interactions between Carole and Evelyn. Those two reminded me exactly of Lorelei and Emily from the Gilmore Girls, to the point where I mentally cast them with the same actors. I enjoyed watching them trading zingers in my head, like getting a free GG episode with some murder thrown in.

I will say that I had a little difficulty getting into the writing style at first. A lot of the opening of the book was dedicated to introducing us to our main characters and also to the specific quirks of Abby's personal manifestation of ASD. That was fine, but it didn't feel as smooth as it could have. The author presented us with some scenes that existed solely to demonstrate some of these background-info points. They were interesting, but I thought it would have worked better to integrate that information into moments that were more relevant to the overall plot. Also, the chapters written from Abby's perspective took some getting used to. As a character, she struggles a bit with concepts of time, and the author demonstrated this by writing her chapters exclusively in the present tense, even when referring to events that she was simply remembering from the past. It made sense and I think was effective as a literary device, but it still slowed me down until things clicked for me.

I also felt I wanted a little something more from the climax than I got. I like my climaxes to be built up to throughout the novel so that the events surprise me but in the end feel inevitable, and while I certainly don't mind magic/paranormal elements being used in those climaxes, I feel the need to understand the playing ground to some extent as far as what each character is (or should be) capable of and what the rules are. This climax did integrate paranormal elements, which was fairly inevitable considering the nature of the story, but for the most part it felt as though the author was making things up as she went and anything could have happened. It wasn't anchored enough in pre-established "rules" of the world for my tastes.

And last but not least, there was one little thing at the end that bothered me.
Profile Image for Mana.
17 reviews
November 14, 2017
This book starts strong. It's gripping and tense, with interesting characters who are appropriately likable or unlikable. The curious connection between "The Ceiling Man" and Abby propels both the story and the desire to keep this book in hand to find out what happens. The chapters switch POV perspectives between Abby, Carole (Abby's mom), and The Ceiling Man himself, which I found pretty interesting. There are overlaps too, something from one character's POV explained or expanded in the next one's (especially helpful when going from Carole, witnessing/hearing strange things from Abby, to Abby, where those strange things now make sense to us). The ending felt really dragged out, however; although there are a lot of things happening in short succession as far as chronological time, reading them from Abby's (and even, to some extent, Carole's) often rambling and disjointed perspective pulls you away from what is going on, and it feels like it takes a long time to get to the next thing even though it's all right there the whole time we're in Abby's mind. The resolution was a bit unsatisfying and happens too quickly (especially after a slow build up) It's just one second there's something happening and the next second it's over and then the characters get on with life and that's that. Still, I couldn't put this one down and read the entire book in a day, and it was worth the read.
(Note: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.)
Profile Image for Jeff.
165 reviews6 followers
February 11, 2019
This is the story of Carole, Jim, Abby, Eleanor, and 'The Ceiling Man.' Ever since the Ceiling Man has existed, there have been "watchers," but all of them disregard him as a nightmare--a horrifying, terrible nightmare. Abby is different, because she knows that he is real.

Carole and her husband Jim live with their daughter Abby in Port Massasuaga. Until the ceiling man arrived, Carole's only really issue was dealing with her mother-in-law, Eleanor, and her daughter's autism. When Abby's unique quirks start to almost be a prediction for the future, Carole starts noticing thing little by little and her only desire is to protect her daughter. With the ceiling man around, she'll need all the luck in the world and Abby's gifts of sight in order to deal with the huge threat that the Ceiling Man has brought to their town.

REVIEW:

About 90% of this book was so good and, dare I say, brilliant. I absolutely loved the characters and I thought the points of view were perfect for the book. I can see some people thinking that Abby's voice is a little repetitive, but it sort of makes sense with how Autism is, so I thought it was perfect. The book definitely takes you on this horrifying ride and you never know what is going to happen, because Abby is the only one who semi-knows and she can't really communicate everything.

The book is going to get an A- from me, because it wasn't perfect, but I did love it! I definitely think this is a book people should read, because it is pretty darn intense!
136 reviews3 followers
July 11, 2018
Terrifying and absorbing

I've never had experience with autistic children, but this author's portrayal of Abby totally rang true. I cannot help believing she has had a very close connection with one of these special people to be able to draw this portrait. This book is gorier than I like and I did skip over one scene, but in spite of my discomfort with the blood n' guts, I really loved the book. It's a classic of the "when extraordinary things happen to ordinary people" genre. I was completely enamoured of Abby and truly liked her parents. The Ceiling Man--what can I say--was delightfully evil. I truly loved the humor in the book, which ran throughout in spite of the dark and horrible plot. I deducted one star because I thought it dragged a bit in the middle. I got tired of reading about Carole's migraines and suspected I was about to develop one myself. But just as I was getting a little bored with the book, it picked up and threw itself into an amazing climax. Will be looking for others by this author!
Profile Image for April Taylor.
Author 10 books117 followers
February 9, 2018
As someone on the spectrum who loves horror, I was very intrigued by this concept. The saying “if you’ve met one autistic person, then you’ve met one autistic person” is true, so it’s hard to say a depiction is or isn’t true to life. I will say that some of Abby’s thoughts/comments/actions felt true.

On the other hand, her constant repeating of things in the last portion of the book was almost enough to make me have to stop reading. That type of repetition is definitely real for some autistics, but for others, it becomes just as painful and hard to deal with as loud noises, bright lights, etc.

There was only one thing about the book that I actively disliked, and it was Abby’s mom referring to her autism as an issue. She seemed very supportive otherwise, but no one on the spectrum wants to hear that their ASD is an “issue.”

Aside from these things, this was a compelling story that kept me quickly turning the pages.

Profile Image for Kristy Kulski.
Author 22 books57 followers
September 10, 2018
This book sucked me in the first moment I picked it up to the moment I finished it. I read it almost obsessively. The creepiness starts on page one and builds until you feel like you can’t stand it anymore and then delivers like a punch in the gut. The characters were tangible, from flaws to strengths, but among them Abby was the diamond. Abby is autistic, but if anything, this has made her stronger. Instead of a disability to overcome, it is part of the magic of her radiant personality and her innate abilities. I loved the unique perspective and that as a reader I got to “see” through Abby’s eyes. I walked away with a better understanding of how autistic minds function so uniquely and wonderfully. This book is so much more than a scary creepy read, it is filled with heart and those things together are the recipe to some fantastic storytelling. Thanks Patricia, for this gem.
Profile Image for Julia Lewis.
Author 18 books52 followers
February 18, 2022
Also reviewed on www.curiosityboughtthebook.com

After reading The Ceiling Man by Patricia Lillie I feel really torn whether I truly enjoyed the book or not. Sure there were a lot of good ideas here, and I really appreciated the point of view from the protagonist’s autistic daughter, but in the end the story felt drawn out and muddled.

The main problem with the book is that there are a lot of times when simply nothing worth of noting happens, and these particular pages just feel like filler. Also, the husband/father in the story was really annoying, and that could’ve been developed better.

That’s not to say I hated the book. In fact I actually cared what would happen to Abby and her family, but the story just wasn’t interesting nor scary enough.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.
Profile Image for Sabrina Leyba.
97 reviews1 follower
May 21, 2022
This was such a good book. I wouldn't say its great for someone who likes to jump right into the horror. It was definitely a slow build. But it was really eerie at times and a super good story. I loved the struggle of the mom and daughter with getting people to taken them seriously. I also loved the relationship between the parents and the daughter. And their understanding of certain triggers or quirks of her behavior. I always love seeing that in my own families that I work with. It's so nice to see them actively look for specific signals especially with any individuals who have trouble expressing it themselves. The book also took the time to make Abby a person and not a caricature of a person with autism. She had her own thoughts fears and motivations which can kinda be lacking in some books surrounding mental health. Overall I really liked it.
111 reviews
May 5, 2025
I absolutely loved this book. I felt a lot of empathy and tenderness for Abbie and Carole, and loved that their chapters were in 1st person while those of the Ceiling Man were in 3rd person. The secondary characters felt full-fledged. As someone with a lot of professional experience and expertise on ASD, I felt Abbie's character and the classroom scenes were very representative of the life of an adolescent with ASD. Carole's way of trying to understand and relate to her daughter as best she can is very touching. I also loved the alternance of wholesome moments and gruesome horror. Finally, I listened to it on Audible (it's included in the subscription!!) and the narrators were great. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the making of this (augio)book!
Profile Image for Coleen.
291 reviews4 followers
November 23, 2017
Just the right amount of creepiness in my opinion. Abby knows something is going to happen in her town and she tries to convey those things the problem is she is autistic and at first, her parents dismiss some of her weird segues as normal for her. I don't know if the characterization of Abby as an autistic teen is correct but I do know I liked her character a lot. The different P.O.V. Carole (Abby's mom), Abby, and The Ceiling Man was well done and ratcheted up the creepiness factor in my opinion. Oh and for those who don't like gore I'd say there aren't a ton of details for most of the murders.
Profile Image for Kathy Roaleen.
109 reviews
January 24, 2021
Great book!

I have a deep suspicion that this author knows a lot about autism spectrum disorder. I think she has a lived history of the condition. I'm an M A level psychologist and treated this disorder. People with ASD are awesome. There frequently are no boundaries to what they say and you can bet they tell truth. They also have a sideways way of looking at the world which often is beautiful. However meltdowns are just as described in this book. Such sensitivity is fragile. The book itself was a romp into sci-fi. The heroine was impeccable. Buy the book. Its terrific and terrifying.
318 reviews4 followers
November 12, 2018
The Ceiling Man

This story captured me. Scared me. Reminded of a good old Stephen King + Dean Koontz story where they ran away to a carnival...
I couldn't put this book down.
Sooo... excitedly with apprehension I read to the end.
I turned my light out to sleep, mulling over the end.
When I woke up, I went back to the last few chapters and read again to the end.
It feels like perhaps The Ceiling Man may have captured the author.
If the author escapes, maybe an alternate ending?
The End
Profile Image for Sam Kennedy .
54 reviews
August 10, 2022
Great portrayal of ASD

I’m a little torn on this book. One of the main characters, Abby, is a teenager with ASD who is also fighting the supernatural villain in the book and I absolutely love her. The mom character is also fairly relatable and the villain is intriguing. The way the author shows how ASD makes Abby’s life different but just as valuable is wonderful and accurate. However the pacing and writing of this book were a bit too slow and repetitive for me. Probably still worth the read if you enjoy supernatural books and definitely if you have a loved one with ASD.
Profile Image for Jada Ryker.
Author 29 books51 followers
May 21, 2017
“If you won’t choose, I’ll have to choose for you.”

The Ceiling Man is a complex book. It’s a horror story. It’s a ghost story. It’s a mystery. The characters are perfectly imagined and executed. Abby is a believable teen with autism, and helps the reader understand what it’s like to live with autism. Carole is a good mom who turns into a raging mama bear to protect her daughter. And we even get insight into the Ceiling Man, a creature of pure evil.
Profile Image for Brett.
8 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2017
Regards

Great read!!! Author was right on with understanding an Autistic young adult. I felt it led most uninformed people down a rosey path
though. Its not that easy for everyone, especially if the Family's do not have the financial means to bring their child to this point.
YES the autistic person lives in a world that is so borderline Angelic we can not possibly comprehend they are far wiser than we!. !!!👼👼👼👼👼👼👼👼
Profile Image for LisaMarie.
750 reviews3 followers
June 28, 2020
2.5. Mostly good but uneven horror novel. Its not listed on the dropdown but I actually listened to the audio of this. The voice of the mother kind of got on my nerves when she'd talk to Abby during a meltdown, and for all voices the narrator displayed rather odd diction or overenunciation or something. Seemed to be a realistic portrait of a kid with ASD.
Then the story kind of fell apart at the end.
Profile Image for Sally Bosco.
Author 11 books11 followers
March 5, 2022
This is a powerful and sensitive book. The characterization was strong, especially in the portrayal of Abby as an autistic young woman. Her character really rang true to me. The plot was creative and unusual. It is great to find a horror novel that goes past the usual tropes. Also, I enjoyed the subtle touches of humor that made the characters really come alive. I loved this book so much I could hardly put it down. I'd highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Heidi.
505 reviews18 followers
October 27, 2017
I really don't know how to rate this properly, so we'll go middle of the road. The first half was excellent - couldn't put it down and so creepy! The ending is where it all fell apart for me. It became a confusing, chaotic mess (which part was intended, I think) and it left an unanswered question -
Profile Image for Thomas Ballein.
64 reviews
September 8, 2018
A wonderful read with a side of scary

I can't say how much I enjoyed this book as father of an autistic kid I could relate with Abby and her parents daily struggles. the big bad was new and it upped the story to a new level it was not the same monster like the last ten i had read, I think I just found my new favorite author.
31 reviews2 followers
October 8, 2018
Absolutely fantastic

The author truly did a wonderful job. She gave each character such a unique voice. This is definitely a book I will read again and there are few books I ever read more than once.
12 reviews
January 27, 2019
Something different and good.

Doesn’t follow most types of good guy/bad guy story lines. Lots of elements that keep in interesting and different. The daughter plays a key roll but with a major switch up. I would recommend.
Profile Image for André Michaels.
Author 2 books3 followers
September 7, 2019
Autistic Abby and her parents find themselves slowly drawn into the web of an unnamed horror who inhabits forgotten people at the fringes of society and uses their bodies to commit grisly acts of torture and murder.

In this gem of exquisitely-paced horror, Lillie gradually turns up the heat, keeping readers on the edge of their seats from the first page all the way to the bitter end. Some of my favorite aspects of this book include delightfully snarky narration by Abby's mom Carole, the creative and unexpected methods Abby uses to combat the villain, and the compassionate and insightful presentation of Abby's autism.

The audiobook edition has the added benefit of a pair of gifted narrators who bring Lillie's already-vivid characters to life even more.
Profile Image for Marjorie Dussaud.
Author 1 book4 followers
February 1, 2017
Great story. I cared instantly for the protagonists and was drawn into the story from the first page.

This was a great read and I hope to read more horror stories like this one. Well done!
Profile Image for Alicia.
18 reviews2 followers
May 31, 2017
This is an awesome story! A definite page-turner with a bitter-sweet ending.
Profile Image for Sara.
149 reviews15 followers
May 16, 2018
Well written. The ending was a bit abrupt. Overall good story. Creative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews

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