Magdalena

by Candi Sary

“Beautifully written and satisfyingly creepy, this is one of the most poignant and original ghost stories I've ever read.” — Mark Haskell Smith, author of Blown In a small, secluded town that thrives on gossip and superstition, Dottie offers plenty of both when the scandal breaks about a missing girl, a ghost, and the affair that started it all. Having suffered a history of miscarriages, reclusive Dottie develops a strange motherly interest in her 15-year-old neighbor, Magdalena. Somewhere between fantasy and reality, Dottie finds new life in her relationship with the mysterious girl. But Dottie’s entanglements with Magdalena, a curious centenarian, a compelling stranger, an ex-mobster, and a murder of crows thrusts this once cloistered woman into a frenzy of public scrutiny. To quell the rumors, Dottie puts pen to paper and discovers something as frightening as it is liberating—her voice.

Genres: Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Horror, Gothic

218 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2023

About the author

Candi Sary is the author of Magdalena (Regal House Publishing, 2023) winner of a Chanticleer International Book Award, and Black Crow White Lie (Casperian Books, 2012), winner of Reader Views Literary Award, a CIBA award and first runner-up in the Eric Hoffer Book Award for fiction. Her work has also made the finals of several writing competitions including the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and the William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. A mother of two adult children, Sary lives in Southern California with her husband, dog, cat and several ducks.

Reviews

[Jude Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candi Sary’s entrancing MAGDALENA invites us to Sam’s Town, a coastal village where the dead linger peacefully, but the living struggle to get through the days. Dottie, a woman whose husband hasn’t died and whose children were never born, deals with her grief alone until Magdalena, the neighbor girl longing for the mother she never met, steps into her life.

I was bewitched by this story! MAGDALENA begins as a lyrical, even cozy, seaside yarn, then blossoms into an engrossing tour de force as the enigmatic main characters uncover the secrets in their lives and in their town. It’s a novel that explores loss but also strength and, like the ghosts in Sam’s Town, it will stay with you long after it ends.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to get an advanced copy of this book. I read it around Halloween and so images of ghosts were already in my head. This book, for me, started out as a ghost story and then morphed into a Mother’s tale and then back to a ghost story. I loved it! As we find in Dottie’s story, anyone can be a mother, you don’t physically have to give birth. Her love helps several people in the book survive and blossom. A beautiful story!!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so lucky to have met Candi at a bookstore signing recently. She was a delight to talk to, and now I have this signed novel from her!

The story really held my attention, and I loved all of the cozy, yet creepy vibes. It’s a small-town-ghosty-mystery story. I love small town settings, and especially ones with ghosts. Everything Candi wrote was so unique and didn’t follow any familiar patterns, which I loved. I really had no idea the turns the story would take. I am SUPER excited for her to write another novel, because I will definitely read it!

#supportlocalauthors

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of ghost stories, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this story. Magdalena is set in Sam’s Town, a coastal village where the dead are inhabiting many of the homes. Magdalena is a young girl, who lives with her grandmother, and is able to see and communicate with the ghosts. Dottie lives alone since her husband had an accident which left him with brain damage and he is now residing in a nursing home. She visits him every day, and is a loyal wife, until she meets a man in the library. When he suddenly stops coming, she assumes he is dead and Magdalena communicates with his ghost. Dottie becomes attached to Magdalena and begins to think of her as a daughter. Then something happens and we have to journey with Dottie as she tells the story.

Magdalena is part ghost story, part mystery, and part drama. Dottie is a woman who is sad and lonely. She attaches to Magdalena and begins to feel like a mother who has someone to live for. Besides Dottie and Magdalena, there is an unusual cast of characters including a ghost, a centenarian (who Dottie constantly complains about her smell), a new priest in training, an ex-mobster, and some nuns. When Magdalena makes enough money to buy herself a phone she brings a lot of drama into Dottie's life, typical teenage behaviour. As Dottie writes down her story, secrets are revealed. Magdalena was a very different book from anything I have read before. The writing was wonderful, but I never really got into the story. I felt for Dottie, but I didn't like Magdalena all that much. This is a story of grief, loneliness, community, trauma and motherhood. If you like stories that are a bit unusual, with a gothic feel and unexpected storylines, then you will love Magdalena.

[Kerri Schlottman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written and highly empathetic account of a spiraling woman Dottie who is grappling with trauma and longing in the haunted setting of fictional Sam's Town - a place with a dark and complicated past. Candi Sary invites readers into Dottie's mind and we tumble with her, feeling deeply for her as she grasps and clings to those around her, both alive and past. This book stretches readers' imaginations and in that extra space we find a new dimension to what it means to be human. This is a fascinating, must read novel.

[Nancy Klann-Moren]

I enthusiastically wrote a blurb for this uniquely wonderful book .
Candi Sary's newest novel, Magdalena, follows her central character, Dottie, as she maneuvers through her small life, small town, and unfortunate circumstances. We watch as she seeks comfort in a young girl's presence, or is it obsession? Sary's mesmerizing writing style envelopes the reader in the dreamlike reality of Dottie's nontraditional ways of overcoming grief.
-Nancy Klann-Moren, Author of The Clock Of Life

[Reneé Mclaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful tale of love, loss and faith. A lonely woman’s relationship with a young girl that fills the gaps in each of their lives is interwoven with beautiful, fully realized side stories about a town and is habitants; both current and spectral. Spirituality, guilt, suspicion, and fate all combine in a perfectly descriptive blend of a love story and a ghost story.

[Rachel Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, unique, captivating story! It can certainly be categorized as a ghost story--but it is more so about the main character dealing with loss and lonlieness, finding strength, and (brilliantly done) finally finding her voice.

[Sherly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the pleasure of knowing Candi and she is a magnificent person! I am so blown away by how haunting yet beautiful her story is and loved all the twists and turns she took me through. Everything was wrapped up amazingly at the end. This book had it all. Mystery, romance, desperation. I highly recommend it!

[Katie T]

Dnf 31% I hate everythinggggggg

[Ivka_s_knihou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tohle bylo tak zvláštní, že po dočtení stále nevím, jestli se mi to líbilo nebo ne.

[julie alesso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical!!! I felt like I was living in Sam’s town along with the characters. So sad when I finished the book, and had to say goodbye to the characters! A must read! Candi Sary did it again! Can’t wait till your next book!

[Dr. Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this book down! I felt for all the characters as they struggled to get through each day and move forward. Candi Sary’s descriptive writing puts you right in this eerie town with all its quirky people…connections made to neighbours and ghosts make it so compelling! Read it!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magdalena is hard to categorize, which is a plus in my book! It doesn't quite fit the genre norms for a ghost story or a mystery, even though it is both of those things. The main character is Dottie, a woman with many reasons to feel sad and disconnected. In the way only an angsty teenager with the ability to summon ghosts could, neighbor Magdalena brings a little magic and a whole lot of drama into Dottie's life. As secrets are revealed, the small community of Sam's Town doesn't know what it is in for - and neither does the reader. Like Candi Sary's other books, Magdalena comes together in a non-formulaic, organic, and satisfying way, leaving you with lots to ponder long after you've turned the last page.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader's copy - the book debuts on 7/11/23.

[Tim Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting from start to finish. A foggy fever-dream of a book, replete with grief, ghosts, lemons, and meatloaf. And don’t forget those birds. Candi Sary's 'Magdalena' sits at the intersection of a beloved old-school Hitchcock puzzle--a psychological slow-burn about loss and loneliness--and a quiet gothic domestic mystery penned by a gentler Anne Rice.

In subtle flowing prose, Sary takes you through the blurry days of Dottie, a feeble, middle-aged woman who has endured a string of crushing losses. A gentle but spiraling woman desperate to connect to all the ghosts—the dead ones who return as well as the live ones all around her who can’t seem to see her for who she is.

I was captivated by this novel’s loveliness and weirdness and sense of unexpectedness. A really enthralling read. Imaginative and twisty, alive with a cast of curiously idiosyncratic characters. A dark lovely jolt about motherhood, and the complicated mind of a grieving woman.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happy to blurb this novel and meant every word. Candi Sary is a fantastic writer who has given us a ghost story that's also a love story, about yearnings and loyalty and the supernatural. And there are crows. I love crows and these smart creatures take up residence in this story.

I also interviewed Candi on Writers on Writing, right here: https://www.writers-on-writing.com/wr...

[No Apology Book Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cuppa

Thank you to Candi Sary and Regal House Publishing for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thanks also to Laura Marie of Laura Marie Public Relations for inviting me on the blog tour.

SPOILERS

So . . . I read this novel because the description leaned hard into the paranormal aspect, and I love a good ghost story. It sounded a little emotional and cerebral, sure, but the forecast was calling for rain, and it was a shortish book, so what the heck. I gave it a shot.

Thing is, the blurb and promotional material were all mum on the fact that this is actually literary fiction. If I’d known that, I’d have passed. Literary fiction isn’t my thing, so I’m afraid I found this book lacking.

Let’s start with Dottie, the MC. She’s very sympathetic . . . to a point. I feel bad that she was raised by a mentally ill mother and a father who seemed rather apathetic by Dottie’s description. I feel bad that Dottie was bullied most of her life, that her husband’s a vegetable, that she suffered multiple miscarriages, that she’s desperately lonely. I feel bad that she doesn’t possess either the desire or the drive to get out and explore, expand her world, meet new people. I feel bad about the awful circumstances of her life that she can’t control.

What I don’t feel bad about are the decisions she makes that do nothing to help herself, good intentions notwithstanding. She’s not a stupid woman, yet she really does some dumb things. Stalking a minor, for example. Allowing a bird to harass her. Walking around town like she’s casing the place and stalking children. Buying the market out of mushrooms. Watching the world out her front window, because she has nothing else to do. Scratching herself till she’s a bloody mess (not shaming compulsions, but seek help!). Allowing a man to take advantage of her right next to her vegetable husband.

Now, obviously Dottie isn’t mentally or emotionally stable. It’s not clear in the narrative if she’s just unbelievably naive, or if she’s a bit mentally handicapped as well. Pile on all those crappy circumstances she’s been forced to live through, and yeah, it’s not surprising her judgment is skewed and she doesn’t have much self-awareness. But, dude. She seems to default to being a victim. At some point it becomes more pathetic than sympathetic.

I’m shocked the Sisters never encouraged her to get a job and learn to support herself, not while she was a teen and not after Mario’s accident. I have such a hard time believing the church would pay to not only take care of Mario for the rest of his life but also completely support Dottie. I agree with Magdalena; it’s shady. No way the congregation’s happy knowing their donations are her income. Or so I assume; I don’t pretend to know how a church’s finances work.

There’s so much about Dottie and Mario’s relationship I don’t understand. Why didn’t she work? What did she do all day while he was at work? Same as now, sat at the window and watched the street? Where were his parents? Why didn’t they help Dottie? I don’t remember the narrative mentioning them. And speaking of parents, I don’t understand hers either. Her mom was cuckoo, her dad . . . I have no idea. And one day they just abandoned Dottie without a word? Went to New Mexico to join a cult? And Dottie just accepts that? What the actual fuck?

Benjamin. He and Dottie had an awesome meet-cute. But I found it strange that when he disappeared, Dottie assumed he’d died. She didn’t ask any of the library staff what they knew? She and Benjamin never talked about anything when they were together, just read books aloud and groped under the table? For a year? Never exchanged contact information? Never shared anything about themselves or their lives? How can you get so attached to someone without knowing anything about them? It just struck me as weird that she assumed he was dead. Didn’t ask anyone, didn’t look for him (aside from waiting at the library), didn’t entertain any other scenarios.

Magdalena. Honestly, I didn’t like her much. As with Dottie’s character, I sympathized with the unfortunate circumstances that were out of Magdalena’s control, but aside from that she seemed pretty self-centered. She wanted what she wanted and screw what anyone else thought or wanted. I’m bitter that we aren’t told what happened to her. She went off to Hollywood and—what? How did meeting her mom go? What happened? Did she eventually meet her father or not? Did knowing her parents, or perhaps just being out of Sam’s Town, make her happy? Did she ever come back to see Dottie or Buttons? Dottie’s shown pictures of her looking “vibrant,” but that’s it.

Also, side note: Magdalena had the entire internet at her disposal, and the best remedy for lice she could find was slathering mayo all over her hair? Man, that had to stink.

There’s Cecelia the amiable, companionable ghost, but there’s not much to say about her. She starts out as a plot device and winds up being Dottie’s friend, which is cool. I hate bugs, so I LOVED when Cecelia started killing them all. (Why did Dottie never use insecticides or hire an exterminator? Even just set off a bug bomb? Be a warrior, not a victim, damn it.) I will say the “rules” for ghosts in this world could have been clearer; at first I assumed Cecelia was confined to Dottie’s house, that that was where she’d died, but obviously it couldn’t have been. It took me a while to realize she was apparently free to roam the town once she’d been summoned. And sometimes she didn’t need to be summoned, I guess.

Ringo. Okay, it was cute when he started to bring Dottie gifts. It warmed my heart. Beyond that, I was so frustrated with the whole crow thing. He harassed Dottie because he was trying to convey a message from God that a tree was going to fall on her house? What a crock. If Dottie didn’t want birds harassing her, all she had to do was make noise and reflect light—hang a wind chime and some wads of tin foil or reflective ribbon. DON’T FEED THEM, for shit’s sake. And she was so wrapped up in her obsession that she never once paid attention to the things he was bringing her? Never occurred to her they could be important things, valuable things, things she could be accused of stealing?

Sigh.

The narrative is set in Sam’s Town, an isolated little fishing community on the coast of Northern California. For an unknown reason, death is different in Sam’s Town; ghosts are able to linger. Considering there’s only one ghost in the story, it’s a rather useless explanation that doesn’t actually explain anything. There doesn’t have to be anything special about the town just to have ghosts in it. Nothing else was really done with the ghost element; it was mostly used for atmosphere. Disappointing.

The timeline was slightly wonky. On page five Dottie says she’s 43 years old in present day—except we don’t know exactly when present day is. In 1967, the town experienced a tragic earthquake that killed a bunch of people. Dottie states she was 4 years old at the time. A couple pages later she says “now, over four decades later,” so one would assume the story takes place after 2007 but before 2017. But if Dottie was born in 1963, she’s have been 43 in 2006. If it’s been over 40 years, she should be at least 45 if not older.

What most disoriented me was that the town, at least from Dottie’s perspective, was stuck in the 50s for no particular reason. Despite taking place around 2008-2017, so much was old-fashioned. Dottie’s name, for one. The fact that she wore house dresses and didn’t work. She had a Zenith television when stations were all switching to digital signals, forcing many people to upgrade to flat screens. (In hindsight, I suppose that could be why she only got static most of the time.) Her husband had a transistor radio. When a cell tower was put up in town, it was met with suspicion and fear and disdain. Dottie knew what telephones were, but there was no mention of her having one. No mention of computers or the internet. Dottie acted like they didn’t exist. When Magdalena found information on her phone, Dottie had no idea how the information was there. So I’m to believe she went to the library multiple times a week for years and was never once curious about the computer bank? Was there no technology in the books she read? Come on . . . I get that the town was small and secluded and full of older residents, but it wasn’t frozen in time. They weren’t off the freakin grid.

Overall, a lot of this book didn’t make sense to me. It contained interesting elements, but ultimately I found it weird and unsatisfying. Whatever the author was trying to get across, I’m afraid it went over my head. Sorry to be the one to drag down it’s rating.

Don’t be fooled; this is no horror ghost story. It’s not scary. It’s not even creepy, at least not in the spooky sense. Don’t see “Shirley Jackson” in the promotional material and think you’re in for A Haunting of Hill House (especially not the Netflix version). Nope, if anything’s creepy, it’s Dottie’s obsession with Magdalena.

[Michelle Farrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fictional story is beautifully written and to me is about everyone’s need for making connections with other souls and that even ghosts need that “human” connection. I enjoyed the suspense as well as the colorful characters in this story about trying to survive in a small town full of gossip while also dealing with past traumas. The story has elements of different types of “motherhood” through it’s nuanced characters, which include: a woman with tremendous loss, a ghost, a teen who can communicate with spirits, a centenarian (i can still smell her!), a questionable priest, an ex-mobster, and some nuns. I really could not put this fun short novel down until the end! Looking forward to discussing at my book club and to the next book by this great author Candi Sary.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend Magdalena highly enough. It's the best thing I've read in ages! The characters are beautifully written, fully-realized people; the setting is unique and odd, but also believable; the plot is engaging, well-paced, and satisfying. I highly recommend the audiobook--Jennifer Pickens is a phenomenal reader, and really brings the story to life.
If you are looking for a ghost story unlike other ghost stories, a book about unconventional mother figures, or a spot-on look at what it's like to be different in a place that doesn't at all appreciate differences, this is the book for you. I would recommend Magdalena to anyone who loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
Thank you for writing, Candi Sary!

[Lacy Arnett Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magdalena is a beautifully-written story, set in a small town full of superstition and gossip and a frank belief in ghosts. Dottie, the main character, is an estranged woman in her hometown—a lonely outcast who is desperate to connect to her teenage neighbor, having never had children of her own. Along with the compelling story, each character in the novel is multilayered and complex and it was such a joy to read!

[Anne Meehan-Dunham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. I don't want to give away anything, but I had no expectations when I started this book. I didn't even know it was a ghost story. From the introduction of Dottie, I was hooked. The writing is lovely and captures the grief Dottie is drowning in while living in a town that has always been hostile to her. An unlikely friendship with a 15-year-old neighbor incites the revelation of secrets followed by shocking surprises. The events weave seamlessly and organically into a genuinely entertaining and imaginative story. I recommend it!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in a small town, some details of Sam's town feel very familiar. Candi Sary's imagination is captivating. You'll eventually understand and fall in love with each character. You won't want to put the book down!
(The song choices are fabulous! I would love a 'Magdalena' soundtrack!)
After reading Magdalena, I want to re-read Sary's last book, 'Black Crow, White Lie' as there's an interesting connection between the two books!

[Dane Sequeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while on vacation, and flew through it in 5 sittings because I absolutely could not put it down! Sary creates a supernatural world that is foreign from anything you’ve ever encountered, and inhabits it with characters who experience deeply relatable human struggles. Was a fantastic read that I’m recommending to all of my friends!

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will start off by saying I am not normally drawn to ghost stories. In fact, I usually turn the other way. I suspect I’ve missed out on many wonderful books because of this. Fortunately, my old ideas did not keep me from reading Magdalena. And what a delight it was when, from the very first page, I found myself completely drawn in to the story.

The characters ranging from the young to the old, the town (a character in itself), a ghost(s), a crow, a nun, the mystery of all that unfolds . . . I could not put this book down.

Highly recommend Magdalena. A beautiful story teller with a unique voice and an equally unique imagination.

[Olivia O'Bryon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sary crafts an intricate world in her story, drawing on the deep, often painful longing for motherhood and the power of imagination in crafting our realities. The story pulls readers in with suspense but keeps them there with the desire for human connection and the uncomfortable realness of the characters’ thoughts and actions. This is as much a story of the super natural as it is a quest for self-actualization and belonging. The pages turn quickly, well worth the read!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was charming, well written, different in a good way - weirdly relatable. I've read thousands of books, and this book is in a category by itself. To quote the title character, "I am totally normal except I can see and talk to ghosts".

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nicely written story, with lots of spooky/creepy elements, although details of the book didn’t stick with me. The tale has inconsistencies and loose ends, but was fun to read without a critical eye.

[Maggie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Magdalena, the character, and the book. Sam’s Town was such an interesting place to hang out. Some might find it surreal, but I was amazed by how I accepted the place. Candi Sary is a great writer. She weaves so many different themes and characters into one flawless universe.

[Tracy Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magdalena is a masterfully written novel that plunges the reader into a fascinating world of small town lore, unforgettable characters, and heartbreaking secrets. This powerful story will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.

[Nicolette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun and spooky to read and I feel so lucky to have gotten a signed copy from my local Barnes!! I’d love to read more from this author