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Exit Ghost
After her father is murdered and an attempt is made on her life, New Jersey heiress and witch Juliet Duncan is supposed to be concentrating on getting better and moving forward. Instead, Jules summons her father's ghost using her blood and tears and his old rotary phone to answer the question: who did it? He reveals it was Hector, her dad's best friend and her mom's new fiancé.
Certain her life is still in danger, Jules flees the family estate to the Asbury Park apartment she shares with her best friend and fellow witch, Ashes. When another friend joins them, all three women get caught up with a secret boyfriend who's also big into magic, but in all the wrong ways, all while Jules wrestles with whether her father's ghost was telling the truth. But what Jules does know is that power has its cost, and she is more than willing to pay the price in order to get her revenge.
Certain her life is still in danger, Jules flees the family estate to the Asbury Park apartment she shares with her best friend and fellow witch, Ashes. When another friend joins them, all three women get caught up with a secret boyfriend who's also big into magic, but in all the wrong ways, all while Jules wrestles with whether her father's ghost was telling the truth. But what Jules does know is that power has its cost, and she is more than willing to pay the price in order to get her revenge.
258 pages, Hardcover
Published March 7, 2023
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer R. Donohue
42 books17 followersJennifer R. Donohue grew up at the Jersey Shore and now lives in central New York with her husband and their Doberman. A member of the SFWA, she works at her local public library where she also facilitates a writing workshop. Her work has appeared in Apex Magazine, Escape Pod, Fusion Fragment, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Exit Ghost is available now. She tweets @AuthorizedMusin and you can subscribe to her Patreon for a new short story every month: https://www.patre-
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 29, 2024
Last summer, my kid and I did a Summer of Hamlet because of a class he was taking. We saw a local production and also read/watched various interpretations or metatexts. Which is how Exit Ghost ended up on deck: it's a contemporary retelling of Hamlet set on the Jersey shore, with a gender-flipped Hamlet. And while this is a perfectly adequate description of the novel, it also misses the mark a good deal. Exit Ghost was the queer, witchy, grief-messy Hamlet adaptation I didn't know I needed.
I think that the best adaptations explore some hidden or more minor facet of the work in question. I just read Ghosted, which is another gender-flipped retelling, this time of Northanger Abbey. The author there focused on themes suggested by Henry Tilney's situation in Northanger: he's recently lost his mom, his dad's a dick, and suddenly there's this dingdong he has a crush on staying with him who has listened to the Regency version of too many true crime podcasts. So Ghosted goes hard on the grief angle, and uses the very idea of hauntings to explore our relationships with the dead.
Exit Ghost also focuses on Hamlet's grief in a way the original never does. He's petulant and often cruel to Gertrude -- who neither killed her husband nor knew that he was murdered -- and talks a lot about revenge and the nature of sanity and the like, but never sits down and has a good cry about how much he misses his dad. And look, I'm not suggesting he should, or that the play suffers for the lack or anything; things are about what they are about, and not other things. Which is what makes adaptions like Exit Ghost so great: they can get down and really wallow in aspects of the story that are suggested by the story that aren't explored.
But honestly, I don't really care about all that. Hamlet's fine and all, but it was all the not-Hamlet stuff that makes Exit Ghost a joy to read. Our ersatz Hamlet, Juliet, is a trust fun kid from the Jersey Shore who was nearly killed by a ricochet when her father was shot. She's a witch, and part of a teeny-tiny community of magic users. She's in that post-college flail, recovering from a really traumatic brain injury, and altogether a really hot mess. She's also fucking cool as hell. The sense of place is excellent and the narrative style just wobbly enough to help you feel Juliet's imperfectly recovering brain fog. Just really cool.
I think that the best adaptations explore some hidden or more minor facet of the work in question. I just read Ghosted, which is another gender-flipped retelling, this time of Northanger Abbey. The author there focused on themes suggested by Henry Tilney's situation in Northanger: he's recently lost his mom, his dad's a dick, and suddenly there's this dingdong he has a crush on staying with him who has listened to the Regency version of too many true crime podcasts. So Ghosted goes hard on the grief angle, and uses the very idea of hauntings to explore our relationships with the dead.
Exit Ghost also focuses on Hamlet's grief in a way the original never does. He's petulant and often cruel to Gertrude -- who neither killed her husband nor knew that he was murdered -- and talks a lot about revenge and the nature of sanity and the like, but never sits down and has a good cry about how much he misses his dad. And look, I'm not suggesting he should, or that the play suffers for the lack or anything; things are about what they are about, and not other things. Which is what makes adaptions like Exit Ghost so great: they can get down and really wallow in aspects of the story that are suggested by the story that aren't explored.
But honestly, I don't really care about all that. Hamlet's fine and all, but it was all the not-Hamlet stuff that makes Exit Ghost a joy to read. Our ersatz Hamlet, Juliet, is a trust fun kid from the Jersey Shore who was nearly killed by a ricochet when her father was shot. She's a witch, and part of a teeny-tiny community of magic users. She's in that post-college flail, recovering from a really traumatic brain injury, and altogether a really hot mess. She's also fucking cool as hell. The sense of place is excellent and the narrative style just wobbly enough to help you feel Juliet's imperfectly recovering brain fog. Just really cool.
April 9, 2023
I've reviewed several novellas from this author, so when she offered me a review copy of her first novel to review, I was happy to accept!
There was a part of me that was nervous this would become a more standard paranormal romance (due to the mention of a boyfriend in the synopsis) but it was thankfully dark and creepy all the way through. The romantic partners that existed for our trio of witches was more to highlight issues and further than plot than to serve as the epicenter for the story. And while I love romance, I appreciated that it stuck to the core issues.
The writing style did a great job emphasizing the protagonists spaced out nature... to the extent that it became hard to read at times. There are several drug trips that I could hardly make out. Magic was kept as a nebulous, unknown thing that heightened the otherness of what the witches were doing, but also made it difficult to follow at times. I can't tell if this is a technically issue or a simple matter of artistic taste, but it did affect my enjoyment of the story.
I'm about as familiar with Hamlet as the average person (meaning I know some major plot beats and points that have been turned into cultural jokes) so I can't tell exactly how much of the story pays homage to the original tale. But there were a lot of fun moments and reference throughout. I particularly liked that her faithful doberman's name was Yorick. I'm sure bigger Shakespeare enthusiasts than me will see a lot I missed.
It's fairly safe to say that a lot of the characters in the story are unlikeable. But, they're interesting and their morally questionable decisions do a great job at furthering the plot and maintaining a spooky ambience. I was.... kinda?... cheering for Jules by the end. But I was also just interested in how dark things would get.
This book is likely to have a very specific, perhaps niche, audience. The witchcraft is darker and more serious, the general vibe is twisted, and the characters are unlikeable, but interesting. But for those looking for that, it's a great pick.
There was a part of me that was nervous this would become a more standard paranormal romance (due to the mention of a boyfriend in the synopsis) but it was thankfully dark and creepy all the way through. The romantic partners that existed for our trio of witches was more to highlight issues and further than plot than to serve as the epicenter for the story. And while I love romance, I appreciated that it stuck to the core issues.
The writing style did a great job emphasizing the protagonists spaced out nature... to the extent that it became hard to read at times. There are several drug trips that I could hardly make out. Magic was kept as a nebulous, unknown thing that heightened the otherness of what the witches were doing, but also made it difficult to follow at times. I can't tell if this is a technically issue or a simple matter of artistic taste, but it did affect my enjoyment of the story.
I'm about as familiar with Hamlet as the average person (meaning I know some major plot beats and points that have been turned into cultural jokes) so I can't tell exactly how much of the story pays homage to the original tale. But there were a lot of fun moments and reference throughout. I particularly liked that her faithful doberman's name was Yorick. I'm sure bigger Shakespeare enthusiasts than me will see a lot I missed.
It's fairly safe to say that a lot of the characters in the story are unlikeable. But, they're interesting and their morally questionable decisions do a great job at furthering the plot and maintaining a spooky ambience. I was.... kinda?... cheering for Jules by the end. But I was also just interested in how dark things would get.
This book is likely to have a very specific, perhaps niche, audience. The witchcraft is darker and more serious, the general vibe is twisted, and the characters are unlikeable, but interesting. But for those looking for that, it's a great pick.
March 16, 2023
Exit Ghost is a novel that stays with the reader, from the first page to the last. Jennifer R. Donohue seeks to retell
Hamlet
in a modern witchy setting, a dark fantasy retelling centered on New Jersey witch Juliet Duncan. Unwilling to accept her father is gone without retribution, Juliet summons up the specter of her father. He promptly reveals that the killer was his best friend Hector, Juliet’s mother’s new fiancee.
You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
August 21, 2024
Such an excellent read! Fantastic characters, a very good dog, and a great setting. I have never been to the Jersey Shore, but I feel like I've seen it, thanks to Jennifer's evocative writing. The story pulls you in and holds on right until the very end. Highly recommended!
April 24, 2023
This is the modern fantasy retelling of Hamlet which I never knew I needed, set on the Jersey Shore with a snarky gender-flipped Hamlet and her dog named Yorick, a vivid cast of characters, and witches and dark magic galore. A deeply atmospheric, immersive story of grief, loss, love, mystery, doubt, and revenge.
Juliet “Jules” Duncan is heiress to a railroad fortune, a recent college graduate, and a witch. When we first meet her, she’s still recovering from the gun attack which killed her father in his own apple orchard, and which left her with a brain injury. She’s reeling from grief, and she’s just conducted a ritual to summon her father’s spirit, who tells her that his murderer is long-time family friend (and his widow’s new fiancé), “Uncle” Hector.
One of the pleasures of this book is seeing how the author translates specific plot points and characters from Hamlet to her modern retelling—the correspondences that are kept, updated, or cleverly twisted. Jules is at least as lost, bitter, prickly, cynical, and grieving as the Danish prince—if not more so. But unlike the prince, she has more than one devoted friend, and a highlight of this book are Jules’ friendships with her roommate and fellow witch, Ashley, and the book’s Ophelia stand-in (daughter to the Duncan family’s head of security), Una. Jules also has a complicated relationship with Una’s brother and Laertes stand-in, John, and to say more about her relationship with both siblings would be to give too much away.
Exit, Ghost is a sly, witty homage to Hamlet that is also very much its own thing. It’s a story about a young woman in grief, trying to decide (like Hamlet) whether or not supernatural voices can be trusted, whether and how to avenge her father. And it’s also a love letter to the Jersey Shore, a story about a summer on the beach; about riding down a famously haunted Jersey road, navigating roommates and friends’ bad love lives and a period of young adulthood (college and post-college) that is challenging even to those who haven’t lost fathers to murder in an orchard. Dark magic and witchery are here, but the heart of this book is about a young woman facing her doubts and continuing to live through grief. A beautifully-written story, magical and compelling and moving.
Note: Thank you to the author for an advance review copy of this book.
Juliet “Jules” Duncan is heiress to a railroad fortune, a recent college graduate, and a witch. When we first meet her, she’s still recovering from the gun attack which killed her father in his own apple orchard, and which left her with a brain injury. She’s reeling from grief, and she’s just conducted a ritual to summon her father’s spirit, who tells her that his murderer is long-time family friend (and his widow’s new fiancé), “Uncle” Hector.
One of the pleasures of this book is seeing how the author translates specific plot points and characters from Hamlet to her modern retelling—the correspondences that are kept, updated, or cleverly twisted. Jules is at least as lost, bitter, prickly, cynical, and grieving as the Danish prince—if not more so. But unlike the prince, she has more than one devoted friend, and a highlight of this book are Jules’ friendships with her roommate and fellow witch, Ashley, and the book’s Ophelia stand-in (daughter to the Duncan family’s head of security), Una. Jules also has a complicated relationship with Una’s brother and Laertes stand-in, John, and to say more about her relationship with both siblings would be to give too much away.
Exit, Ghost is a sly, witty homage to Hamlet that is also very much its own thing. It’s a story about a young woman in grief, trying to decide (like Hamlet) whether or not supernatural voices can be trusted, whether and how to avenge her father. And it’s also a love letter to the Jersey Shore, a story about a summer on the beach; about riding down a famously haunted Jersey road, navigating roommates and friends’ bad love lives and a period of young adulthood (college and post-college) that is challenging even to those who haven’t lost fathers to murder in an orchard. Dark magic and witchery are here, but the heart of this book is about a young woman facing her doubts and continuing to live through grief. A beautifully-written story, magical and compelling and moving.
Note: Thank you to the author for an advance review copy of this book.
November 27, 2023
BISEXUAL DISASTER WITCH! GHOSTS! BLOOD OATHS! THE DOG LIVES! I don't know, do you really need more than that? If the gender swapped Hamlet retelling set at the Jersey Shore tagline doesn't call to you like a siren song, then what are we even doing here, babe?
Okay fine. Here's more: Jules really is a messy disaster after her father dies and she almost dies with him. But, come on. Who would be normal after that? With the help of her growing witch coven (we all need a friend like Ashes, really), she will find out who murdered her father (and almost her) and why. Exit Ghost is full of engaging, relatable characters, and you will root for them, no matter how messy and disastrous they are. Would I want to hang out with Jules in real life? Probably not. We would most likely be oil and water. Thank goodness this is a book and not real life! I was invested. The witch lore that Donohue creates is interesting and compelling. And magic comes with a price tag. And Juliet will do whatever it takes to pay it.
Okay fine. Here's more: Jules really is a messy disaster after her father dies and she almost dies with him. But, come on. Who would be normal after that? With the help of her growing witch coven (we all need a friend like Ashes, really), she will find out who murdered her father (and almost her) and why. Exit Ghost is full of engaging, relatable characters, and you will root for them, no matter how messy and disastrous they are. Would I want to hang out with Jules in real life? Probably not. We would most likely be oil and water. Thank goodness this is a book and not real life! I was invested. The witch lore that Donohue creates is interesting and compelling. And magic comes with a price tag. And Juliet will do whatever it takes to pay it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews