Ghost 19 by Simone St. James #SimoneStJames @brit_pressley @PRHAudio

the setup…
Ginette Cox is an off Broadway actress who was temporarily hospitalized after an episode where she was thought to have had a nervous breakdown. She’s released soon after but moves from the city to a small suburban New York town, renting a house at 19 Howard Avenue. It’s 1959 when women were often diagnosed as such but it isn’t clear whether Ginny truly has a problem or is just high strung. But when she develops a fear that prevents her from leaving the house and hears noises from the cellar that paralyze her, it seems that maybe she does have a more serious problem.

the heart of the story…
Is she crazy or is something more sinister going on? Ginette spends her days watching the neighbors from her window (serious shades of Rear Window), creating her own narratives about them. There was a part of me that didn’t take her seriously until some creepy things started to make me believe it wasn’t just her. There aren’t a lot of really dramatic moments, just a series of routine interrupted by possible paranormal phenomena.

the narrator…
Pressley is a favorite and she proves why here with her superior storytelling skills. She made a creepy story even more unnerving.

the bottom line…
I liked this story, a lot. Ginette is a perfect unreliable narrator because even she isn’t sure of her own mind. She’s highly imaginative, dramatic and proud of it, which muddles things even more. But I loved the neighborhood she created in her head, as it added to the mystery. For a short story, it engaged me quickly and kept me hooked through the very satisfying end.

Book Info

• Release Date: October 4, 2022
• Narrator: Brittany Pressley
• Audio Length: 2 hours, 50 minutes
• Publisher: Penguin Audio

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