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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Struggling true crime writer Alex has been struggling after the death of her husband. Her second book was a massive failure and she’s not sure if she can write a hit again. She is offered a ghostwriter job in Burlington Vermont and so she heads there to spend 6 months writing the story of Coram House for Lawyer Stedsan as his legacy.
Coram house is based on a real life orphanage where rampant abuse happened. Some of this is highlighted in the story. It is definitely a slow build as Alex works to figure out who is telling the truth in this twisted mystery.
Overall I enjoyed the book. The pacing was slow for a while but picked up by the end.
3.5/5 stars for me. Rounded up for Goodreads.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.
Coram house is based on a real life orphanage where rampant abuse happened. Some of this is highlighted in the story. It is definitely a slow build as Alex works to figure out who is telling the truth in this twisted mystery.
Overall I enjoyed the book. The pacing was slow for a while but picked up by the end.
3.5/5 stars for me. Rounded up for Goodreads.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Following a personal bereavement & a scandal following her last true crime book, writer Alex Kelly is offered the opportunity to ghost-write a book about a long closed-down orphanage in Vermont named Coram House. The job means packing up & moving on-site to Vermont for 6 months but when Alex arrives some of the locals are rather unfriendly & definitely not co-operative, including her police liaison.
The Church who owned the orphanage paid out to some of the former occupants of Coram House for the abuse they suffered whilst there, but Alex is sure there is an additional story here - murder. She starts to investigate but someone wants the truth to stay hidden & will kill to ensure it does.
This could have been a really dark, almost gothic, mystery thriller - all the ingredients were there, but it was a bit of a miss for me. I think the issue is that the main character, Alex Kelly, is difficult to like. She does all the clichéd things: drinks too much making her unreliable, rushes into situations without thinking, thinks she's the only one who can solve a cold case, thinks she's the only one with any tragedy in her life, blah blah blah blah. Yes, I really didn't care for her character at all if you can tell so it affected my enjoyment of this one.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC/Raven Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
The Church who owned the orphanage paid out to some of the former occupants of Coram House for the abuse they suffered whilst there, but Alex is sure there is an additional story here - murder. She starts to investigate but someone wants the truth to stay hidden & will kill to ensure it does.
This could have been a really dark, almost gothic, mystery thriller - all the ingredients were there, but it was a bit of a miss for me. I think the issue is that the main character, Alex Kelly, is difficult to like. She does all the clichéd things: drinks too much making her unreliable, rushes into situations without thinking, thinks she's the only one who can solve a cold case, thinks she's the only one with any tragedy in her life, blah blah blah blah. Yes, I really didn't care for her character at all if you can tell so it affected my enjoyment of this one.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC/Raven Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
CORAM HOUSE is a haunting, surprising novel steeped in grief and shadowed with gothic undertones. Alex, an investigative writer, is tasked with ghostwriting the history of a Vermont orphanage. As she sorts through the accounts of so much harm, she finds the untold story of a boy who disappeared at Coram House fifty years earlier. This is not a thread she can let go, but following it makes this much more than a job for her.
From the very first page, I was drawn in by its atmosphere - there’s just something about a mystery set against the biting cold. The setting does so much heavy lifting here, including the House itself, which feels almost like its own character. Grief isn’t just a theme in this book - it’s a lens through which everything is seen, blurring the lines between good judgment and desperation.
I was impressed with how seamlessly the story wove in true historical cases. Alex’s two previous investigations are based on real events, and it added a layer of weight to the work she is doing at Coram House. That said, some of the content - especially related to child abuse - was difficult to read. It’s handled with care, but it still left me shaken.
This is a powerful and engaging read that
lingers long after the final page. CORAM HOUSE is a gothic mystery that doesn’t just ask the reader to solve a puzzle—it asks us to sit with our grief and wonder what we might be capable of under the weight of it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.
From the very first page, I was drawn in by its atmosphere - there’s just something about a mystery set against the biting cold. The setting does so much heavy lifting here, including the House itself, which feels almost like its own character. Grief isn’t just a theme in this book - it’s a lens through which everything is seen, blurring the lines between good judgment and desperation.
I was impressed with how seamlessly the story wove in true historical cases. Alex’s two previous investigations are based on real events, and it added a layer of weight to the work she is doing at Coram House. That said, some of the content - especially related to child abuse - was difficult to read. It’s handled with care, but it still left me shaken.
This is a powerful and engaging read that
lingers long after the final page. CORAM HOUSE is a gothic mystery that doesn’t just ask the reader to solve a puzzle—it asks us to sit with our grief and wonder what we might be capable of under the weight of it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.
dark
mysterious
sad
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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book. I was not paid to read and review this book, any thoughts or opinions expressed are my own.
3.75 ⭐️
Coram House follows writer Alex Kelley as she relocates to a new city to research and write a book about the mysterious Coram House. While digging into old depositions from a case that surfaced in the late ’80s, she discovers mention of a little boy known only as Tommy—and becomes determined to uncover what happened to him. The story includes several twists and red herrings, and I have to say, the final reveal genuinely surprised me, which I always appreciate.
3.75 ⭐️
Coram House follows writer Alex Kelley as she relocates to a new city to research and write a book about the mysterious Coram House. While digging into old depositions from a case that surfaced in the late ’80s, she discovers mention of a little boy known only as Tommy—and becomes determined to uncover what happened to him. The story includes several twists and red herrings, and I have to say, the final reveal genuinely surprised me, which I always appreciate.
Seybolt does a great job building an eerie, unsettling atmosphere—I definitely felt the tension as I read. That said, I had a few issues. I found myself frustrated by Alex’s repeated poor decisions; she somehow escapes danger despite making choices that seem to defy logic. I also felt the pacing was too slow in the beginning. I can appreciate a slow burn, but this one took a while to really find its momentum—it didn’t pick up until around the halfway point.
All in all, I did enjoy the book, especially for its suspense and the twist ending. But the slow start and occasionally maddening protagonist did detract from the overall experience.