Reviews - Coram House | The StoryGraph

183 reviews for:

Coram House

Bailey Seybolt

3.7 AVERAGE

kris10lee79's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

wfleck's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

arshika94's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

courtneyyallreads's review against another edition

3.5

slow-paced

Coram House is an atmospheric mystery inspired by the true events that occurred at the St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Vermont. Although the premise of the book is intriguing, the pacing was a bit too slow and predictable for my liking and became repetitive in some parts. I did enjoy the media components that were included, and the dark history of the orphanage is also interesting. Overall, I didn’t love the writing, but it was still a decent read. I’ve seen many mixed reviews on this, so I say go for it if the synopsis entices you.

mctmama's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

cdawson1001's review against another edition

4.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

readinginthewings's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

After her husband’s death and the failure of her last novel, true-crime author, Alex Kelley, gets hired to ghostwrite a book about an historic orphanage, Coram House, in Burlington, VT. The abusive crimes against the children there in the 1960’s are well-known, but the disappearance of one little boy captures Alex’s interest. As she begins her research into the past, she discovers the body of an old woman by the lake. She is convinced that this murder is connected to Coram House’s past, but how?

Coram House had me captivated from the very first page. It has a dark, almost gothic, atmosphere, and while it is a steady, slow burn, I was fully engaged the entire time and sped through it, unable to put it down. Seybolt’s writing was extremely evocative and there were some lines that hit me in the chest with their power and imagery. Based on a real orphanage, I found the story utterly fascinating.It is a beautifully written mystery, with twists that kept me guessing and left me entirely satisfied.