Dweller on the Threshold

by Skyla Dawn Cameron

Amidst the 2020 pandemic, Norah Sloane has been sheltering in place with her ex-boyfriend—the equivalent of three toddlers in a trench coat pretending to be an adult—who abruptly informs her he thinks she needs to move out. Coincidentally, her estranged father has just died and left his family’s home to her, and in a fit of defiant frustration, she packs her bags—and her cats—and drives five hours north to the tiny village of Hope Falls to claim her inheritance.

Selling the big, partially renovated old house during a global pandemic is out of the question, but the bills are paid for a few months to give her time to get on her feet. It’s the best solution, all things considered.

So what if it’s haunted?

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Paranormal, Thriller, Fiction, Ebooks

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2022

About the author

Friend Requests: I am really happy to accept new friends, however there is a challenge question. I realize it sounds bitchy, but I don't like author spam any more than any other reader. I ignore requests that don't respond to the challenge question (unless I *actually* know you in some capacity).

Please don't spam me with invitations to read your book. Thanks.

-----------

Award-winning author Skyla Dawn Cameron has been writing approximately forever. Her early storytelling days were spent acting out strange horror/fairy tales with the help of her many dolls, and little has changed except that she now keeps those stories on paper. She signed her first book contract at age twenty-one for River, a unique werewolf tale, which was released to critical and reader praise alike and won her the 2007 EPPIE Award for Best Fantasy. She now has multiple series on the go to keep her busy, which is great for her attention deficit disorder.

Skyla lives in Southern Ontario where she dabbles in art, is an avid gamer, and watches Buffy reruns. She’s naturally brunette, occasionally a redhead, and currently blonde. If she ever becomes a grown-up, she wants to run her own pub, as well as become world dictator. You can visit her on the web at www.skyladawncameron.com for free fiction, book news, a community forum, and tons of other totally awesome stuff.

Info about the current series she's working on--which begins with Bloodlines--can be found at www.ZaraLain.com

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one's pretty dang good. 4.75 stars, rounded up. I had some quibbles, but in the light of the fact that I read the last third without pause, and was satisfied with the ending, they remain just quibbles. As other reviewers have said, so I say: NOTHING bad happens to the cats. The rest is between creepy and EEEK! I didn't like the longest jump in time from two harrowing events in a row to... like, three weeks later, I think. And there's a choice made that was just kinda dumb in light of what our MC already knew. But. I don't care, now. Because whew. And also, yeah. But mostly, whew.

[Kaesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's one spoiler in the tags for this book so I'd advise against looking too hard at them if you think you might read it. (I will, however, mention that this book has themes and depictions of physical and emotional abuse of a child.)

This novel was compulsively readable. Okay, maybe I accidentally stayed up all night reading it because I was avoiding filling in my mail-in ballot for the mayoral election but the book did eventually get scarier than Chicago politics so I managed to do that by dawn, at least. I'm such a sucker for the gradual escalation of the supernatural thing from "maybe it was the wind" to "undeniably creepy shit is happening" to "WHAT??? WHAT THE FUCK???" and this book really manages that, I think.

The book is set in 2020 against the backdrop of the pandemic, and so it's full of very memey late '10s and 2020 references, ones I'm not sure will age well. That's fine, I don't care; I found it relatable, and some of it felt a little cheesy but a lot of it was funny. It did feel a little improbable that so many people in this small town were willing to respect the protag's need for social distance (I really had to fight with my pretty liberal family on little things like wearing masks around my soon-to-be-98-year-old grandma) but I wasn't up for a lot of furious mask wrangling; I wanted to read about 3 things:
1. the protag managing her unexpected breakup with her shitty boyfriend
2. and taking the cats
3. to the huge haunted house she's inherited.

It delivered on all of those things. (Nothing bad happens to the cats. The cats are sweet doofuses.)

I anticipated that the book would, like a lot of haunted house media, really capitalize on the theme of housing insecurity as horror, and it absolutely did do that, but it's also good if you like "renovation is horror (because you never know what godawful structural issue you're going to uncover)" and I think the heart of the book is really that re-examining your own past is like renovation, in that you never know what godawful structural issue you're going to uncover, but you can still rebuilt something beautiful. The ending is sweetly hopeful, something I don't really expect from horror, but I appreciated it in this case, because, yeah, the protag's been through enough shit and so have the rest of us.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has some important things to say about childhood trauma and how bad things get buried: but they’re undermined by a narrator who is often improbably blasé about what’s going on inside and around her. I frequently didn’t buy her reactions.

[Maria Perdana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think about this book. I personally don’t like virtue signaling and there are a lot of it in this book, which makes the protagonist not likable for me. Story is good, but the plot holes were kind of big. Why did Gavin suddenly reappear and what happened to him? Why was the well there?
What the F actually happened??
Throughout the story, I was led to believe the protagonist didn’t want to have anything to do with the explanations. But that doesn’t mean that an explanation was not required 😒.
The action was pretty good, hence the 3 stars. And because the cats made it OK! Thank God!
The plot twist felt hollow as the gaping plot holes were hard to ignore. But overall it was pretty scary. Too bad for the plot holes and the virtue signaling, just too bad …

[Line P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone mentioned that the narrators is improperly blasé about the things happening around her, which I take to mean that they thought the thoughts and actions of the narrator were unrealistic.

To that I can only say that I personally could see myself act in many of the same ways as the narrator does, thinking many of the same ways.
Our minds and experiences and thus how we act and think can be so vastly different, and I personally find this book very good and not unrealistic in many ways.

I’ve already read the watcher of the woods book, which is what brought me to this book, so I’m out of luck for more in this universe, for now at least.
It does make me feel a little sad as the universe is absolutely intriguing and I very much hope to hear more from it.

[Ashley True · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a decent plot and interesting story line. My issues with the story are probably all my own. The amount of times that “global pandemic” and “lock down” was mentioned was over the top for me. You can mention not being able to have food delivered due to lock down one or twice. It’s not needed every single time take out is mentioned. Same with standing 6 feet apart after mentioning it the first few times we get it. Yes, you have to outline what insanity we lived through for future readers who didn’t live it but I don’t think taking about it 5-6 times a chapter is needed. Again, I’m sure this is a me problem.

[M.L.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing bad happened to the cats! But there's plenty of spooky shit that happens to Norah, our protagonist who suddenly finds herself owning a house. Which is haunted, complete with murder basement.

Really enjoyed this book. There are some spooky haunted shit that wasn't tied up in a neat bow at the end, and I hope that's maybe part of the next book? Because I'm invested in the drowned girl from the attic. Was she murdered by the evil grinning spook?

[Aubrey Mcleod · Rating 1 out of 5]

the number of times the narrator said "Global Pandemic" was completely obnoxious. The book is unnecessarily political and woke, it detracted entirely from the story. Also, having a narrator openly say "I'm always the one who says "get out of the house" during a horror movie" and is neurotic about the safety of her cats, but just continues living in a crazy house that's obviously trying to kill her is dishonest and unbelievable.

[Adrinna Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen. I do not want to spoil the ending. I hope it is sufficient to say that this book made me cry.

Like all GREAT Haunted House Horror, it wasnt preachy, but it was absolutely exploring a deep human fear through the mask of a haunting in our most safe of spaces- home. Coming off of a crappy novel just before this that hit the nail on the head until it was just a huge hole in the wall and maybe a few gushing, obliterated pipes and sparking wires, I was gratified to experience a lighter but still obvious touch.

If you arent the type to be moved by stories of childhood trauma and the role our families have in forming both our greatest safety and our worst harm then you may rest assured. This was a fun story too. The narration was snarky, snappy and for those who love cats and independent, complex women, I am confident you will find a good friend in Nora Sloane.


Very light spoiler:

I am so grateful to my twin sister. For seeing me and seeing my pain, for being my refuge when things were scary or uncertain, when it hurt to be a child. I cannot imagine growing up without her as my rock through everything we went through. I would have been a very different person. I dont know if I would have liked that person as well, so consider that when you read this novel of an only child overcoming her childhood trauma. She's not perfect or healthy but she is scrappy and did what she had to do to emotionally survive.

[Victoria Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was the perfect haunted house story for me. The haunting was scary, the choices made sense, and I'd want to hang out with the heroine. (NOT at her house, to be clear.) What a perfect start to spooky season! Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Michelle Confere · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 completely and emphatically recommend, especially to those who have suffered and conquered childhood trauma. While 95% of this book is essentially a thriller/ haunted house story, the ending is a mix of emotional gut punch and “aha” all in one. I truthfully couldn’t put it down. The MC is a sailor mouthed bada$$ who takes no one’s crap, loves her cats and is a survivor of childhood emotional and physical abuse (much like myself, cue the immediate admiration for the character from the very beginning, because f*ck you Greg!) When the pieces start falling into place, it turns into so much more than a spooky story and if you’ve survived childhood abuse of any kind, you’ll find yourself getting choked up over how the MC rationalizes and comes to terms with the spooky happenings in her home and the inevitable trajectory of her future.

Houses can be powerful structures of refuge, but can also be traps for horror, terror and fear. I spent a year and a half in intense EMDR therapy because of the terror I lived through in my childhood home. When I neared the end of reprocessing one certain memory during therapy, the house caught fire and burned to the ground. This book resonated with me more deeply than I would have imagined it would when I started it.

[Daniela Saca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminded me of Mike Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor… like a combination of the two in a way. It wasn’t what I expected 🤔 and it was a cool concept. My main negative observation would be that the phrase “global pandemic” was overused to death. Other than that the story was entertaining, original and had interesting commentary on trauma.

[Misty Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one day! I've never read any of Skyla's books before, but I'm hooked now.

As someone who suffered severe trauma in childhood and then grew up to be a clinical social worker to help those who had suffered like myself, this book was incredible. Why? Because she reminds the audience that your mind is like a house. Sometimes, you have to close doors and lock them tight until you are ready and safe to tackle what's inside. Sometimes, you only know you're healed by looking at all the open doors and new spaces to see how far you've come in life. Thank you for creating a book that not only talks about mental health but gives hope of survival too.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun horror, set during 2020. Norah has just inherited a house off her estranged father, the same week that her boyfriend breaks up with her and asks her to move out. So, she decides she'll take the cats, their expensive pillows, and high-tail into the countryside to shelter in place in the weird old, creepy mansion that her father was apparently doing up into a B&B.

All is not okay at this creepy mansion though. Basically from jump, things are Not Right. It starts with doors being left open or mysteriously jamming, but quickly escalates to ghostly figures. But Norah has no choice, this is the place she has to shelter, the only place really that she has to go.

With the help of her affable neighbour, and later someone from her new D&D crew, she's determined to get to the bottom of this. She's gonna make sure it's the ghosts that get evicted, not her.

I really enjoyed the first half of this. The humour is light and charming. Norah is fun--grouchy and pretty sick of everyone's shit. There are some good creep-out moments. The hauntings often playing on her difficult and traumatic relationship with her dad was well done.

It did eventually get kind of repetitive though: the hauntings are roughly the same each time, and the escalations never felt like they were putting anyone in true danger. They do eventually up the anti properly, but it takes so long to get there, and even after that, there's a significant drop-off in how dangerous they feel again. There's only so many times a clock can mysteriously start ticking, or doors can slam open/closed, before I'm over it.

Norah is also really frustrating occasionally. I understand she's sticking to her guns but good god.

And then the explanation and reveals for the haunting itself just didn't land for me. I understand that they would for others; there's an element in particular that never works for me, so it's definitely a personal taste thing. But it felt like it overcomplicated the whole thing. I guess I like things either unsolved, or solved more simply.

Still, a lot to recommend it if you want a light, easy read. I do like that it's set during lockdown too; there's a lot to play with during that period and I hope we see more pandemic literature like this, where it is used as the setup rather than being necessarily about covid.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I was a pink-haired girl living in a giant haunted house, scheduled to play Dungeons and Dragons with my realtor’s son, like some kind of Manic Pixie Dream Girl out of a shitty novel about a middle-aged man finding the will to live after his divorce. [p. 117]

I was hooked by the sample chapter and read this novel in a single afternoon. It's narrated by Norah, who's been living with her ex during the pandemic but is summarily told to move out. Luckily, she's just discovered that she's inherited the family house from her long-estranged, recently-deceased father. Norah takes the bedspread, her two cats, and all the toilet paper, and drives to the little town of Hope Falls, Ontario, where she discovers that the house is ... not exactly vacant. Haunted house? Weird neighbours? Repressed childhood memories? Bring it on.

The pacing is sometimes uneven, the final chapters are frantic, and a few plot points could have done with more resolution: but I liked Norah's narrative voice, and her determination to protect her cats, and I certainly empathise with her approach to social interaction: "...a lot of the pandemic protocols were things I could get used to one day when we were all vaccinated and no longer dealing with it. I dug masks. I really dug social distancing. I loved not shaking people’s hands. I loved people not getting in my space when I was shopping or on the sidewalk. I liked this new trend of minimizing the time someone was in my home. And not a single dude had randomly stopped me on the street to tell me to smile. If we could have all that without the death and suffering, I’d be happy." [p. 90]. An engaging read, with some interesting observations about the long-term effects of trauma ('reframing how we look at what we've become to cope' says the author in her afterword), and plenty of humour to leaven the darker scenes.

The cats, by the way, are absolutely fine.

[Book Tea 🫖 with Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norah has been living with her ex-partner during the pandemic, but is abruptly told to leave. Fortunately, she has just learned that her long-estranged father, who recently passed away, has left her the family home. With her bedspread, two cats, and all the toilet paper in tow, Norah embarks on a journey to the small town of Hope Falls, Ontario. However, upon arriving at the house, she realizes that it is not completely empty. Will the house be haunted? Will she have strange neighbors? Will she uncover repressed childhood memories? Norah is ready for whatever comes her way.
While the story has its moments of fast-paced action, there are also some slower parts, and the final chapters are quite intense. Additionally, some plot points could have been tied up better. Nevertheless, I found Norah's unique narrative style and her determination to protect her beloved cats endearing. I can also relate to her cautiousness when it comes to social interaction, especially during the pandemic. She reflects, "Many of the pandemic protocols were things I could adapt to once everyone was vaccinated and we were no longer dealing with it." I particularly appreciated her attitude towards wearing masks. Overall, Norah's story is a captivating one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Ozsaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the pandemic, Norah's boyfriend asks her to leave. Good thing her father left her a house to live in.

Turns out it's haunted.

I liked Norah a lot, especially how she loved her cats. She always thought first about protecting them, but she was in a tough spot, with little money, and nowhere to go.

At first she thought she could just live with the haunting. How bad could it be?

Pretty freaking bad. There were some creepy scenes that had my heart racing. Things got very strange, and very disturbing. Honestly, if I went through half of what she did, I'd just go live in a tree or something.

The resolution was unexpected. I started having a tiny inkling toward the very end, but I didn't have it all figured out. At all.

Actually, I kind of wished there was more explanation, but still amazing.

One warning: there is child abuse, and trauma. It's not shown in gory detail, but it's certainly not glossed over either.

[Wendy Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good ghost story set during the Pandemic just to make things interesting. Our heroine, Norah, in the midst of a failing relationship, receives word that her estranged father has passed and she is now the owner of her grandparents' house. She packs up her belongings, including their 2 cats, leaves her immature and selfish partner and heads out to her inherited house. It's not what she expected, especially when strange things began to happen, such as slamming doors, puddles of water and apparitions. With the help of a couple of new people she meets, they delve into what is up with the mysterious house. To add to the mayhem, Norah is having flashbacks to a traumatic childhood and relationship with her cruel father. All the makings of a good psychological scarefest. I was spooked several times whilst reading, and felt a little creeped out. I did like the book but was a bit disappointed with the ending because it left a few unanswered questions, but otherwise no complaints.

[Elga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to leave the lights on both on my bedside table and the kitchen after finishing the audiobook despite listening until dawn. This book made me scared to exist! I find it really interesting how the author managed to channel some of her own memories of seeing ghosts and trauma into this gripping, creative plot. Were there plotholes? Peobably, although with a supernatural universe it’s hard to pinpoint the rules and logic of what’s possible. I myself would be back at Greg’s and selling the place before I even moved in that house the signs were so clear, but then there would no story I guess. 😀 Wish I knew what happened to Gavin, but am aftaid to read the next book to find out. Maybe when I really, really need the adrenaline to wake up (and atay that way) for several days.

[Alison Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I listened to the audiobook on Everand.

I enjoyed this book! It was a fun paranormal/thriller/horror type of book. It wasn't super scary but it was very unsettling, and I think it played through its themes well. Norah is a fun main character, and I like her personality. She moves into an old house that her dad was going to convert into a small hotel. She was estranged from her dad because he was abusive, but she has nowhere to live and is isolated due to a bad relationship and the pandemic. Creepy things start happening, and she sees ghosts. But she has nowhere else to go.

All in all, it was a fun book and I sped through the last half.

[TraciWithTheGoodBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn't a book that was on my radar but came up as a recommendation. I'm so glad I read it. It's a little spooky and definitely paranormal. The main character is likeable and although it seems like she has some unresolved baggage, in the end her trauma is WILDLY validated. Additionally, this author did a fantastic job of taking a difficult subject like child abuse and making it relevant to the story without being disgusting. I also love that it had a happy ending. The author was able to take a bleak time (pandemic era), childhood trauma, and a haunted house and somehow make it humorous and entertaining. I loved this book!

[Laura Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a really solid haunted house book. The main character grew on me as the book progressed, even if I was often very frustrated by her lack of curiosity about the house. If I inherit a giant old house from my estranged father I'm exploring/looking through documents right away! Maybe I'm just nosy.
Themes were very well done, and there were a few very creepy scenes.
Just a warning that this book takes place in 2020 during the pandemic, and that is more than just a plot device to explain why she has to stay in this creepy house. It is honestly a huge part of the story, so if that's triggering for you give it a miss.
I would definitely read something from this author again.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok... so I really enjoyed the MC. I liked her attitude about everything that was going on and I love her adoration for her cats - it made me feel like I was reading as myself.
The one thing that almost caused me to DNF this pretty early on was the excessive talk about the pandemic and masks. I get it. I lived through it. I know what a pain it was. And I know this book will be read by others in the future who did NOT live through it so I understand wanting to write about it in a way that lets people understand that time period. But it was just.... a lot.
This is my first book by the author and I will be very likely to pick up more from her in the future!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really twisty haunted house/psychological horror story with a couple of twisty twists at least one of which I didn't see coming but afterwards I could see that the hints were in fact there, just not obvious until after because they were subtle.

The rest of the story just pulled me under and kept me reading until late at night which was not great for me getting to sleep afterwards but did mean I got to finish the book and know how it ended.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to resonate with this book as much as I did. From the attitude/mentality of the main character (I too gain extra bravery if my feline offspring are at possible risk) to the reliving of trauma and working through that, I was enthralled all the way through. One of the best reads I've read this year for sure, even if I felt a little called out for my own trauma and coping mechanisms 🙃

[Tegan Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god???? This book gave me a run for my money. I’m usually don’t get scared from haunted house stories (like I fell asleep during the conjuring), but I actually found myself spooked at times and was pleasantly creeped out. The main character is also funny and relatable and frankly delightful. This is such a fun read for my 20 or 30 something nerds that don’t mind a little spooky here and there.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t normally do horror any more. That said, this was an awesome listen. Combine the pandemic with childhood PTSD and a huge creepy seemingly haunted house, with rumors of disappearing people, slamming and suddenly locked doors. Yeah, read during the day, with the lights on, and someone you trust nearby.

Now I’m going to give some of the author’s other works a try!

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to read this! I stayed up late to finish it. Strong voice and chapter one hook, rising tension, lots of spooky scenes and an AMAZING ending/solution--everything I wanted but didn't know I wanted. (And yes, I can confirm, the cats are both fine.)

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect in so many ways. The characters are fresh and fun, the snark is great, the cats are hilarious and don't get harmed, the text is quotable, the mysteries of the haunted house are brilliant... so, so good!