The September House

Starred review from July 3, 2023
If P.G. Wodehouse had written The Amityville Horror, the result might have approximated Orlando’s equally charming and spooky debut. Middle-aged, matter-of-fact, and stubborn, narrator Margaret Hartman has no intention of abandoning her Victorian dream home, even if her stolid housekeeper was in fact axe-murdered more than 100 years ago and the walls drip blood every September. (“It was going to be a long month. But that’s just the way of things.”) Margaret’s husband, unable to face another autumn of ghastly incursions, has left without word, and her daughter, Katherine, is about to visit for the first time, to search for him. Margaret must hide the haunted truths of her household from Katherine if she wants to avoid being bullied into moving—even if the facade of normalcy requires opening the dreaded basement door. As her neighbor Edie sighs, “Oh, Margaret, you’re in a real pickle.” That direct, practical voice is central to the pleasure of Orlando’s storytelling. While horror tropes abound, there are no screaming teens or action heroes—the ghosts are tactile and verbal, the neighbors know about the problem and pitch in, and, when push comes to shove, it’s a hard-won combination of biological and found family that unites to confront the supernatural threat. This utterly original haunted house tale is a joy. Agent: Katherine Odom-Tomch, Folio Literary.

Starred review from August 1, 2023

DEBUT With grim humor, emotional resonance, and brilliant subversion of a familiar trope, this compelling debut is perfect for fans of Clay MacLeod Chapman, Simone St. James, and Grady Hendrix. Margaret holds steadfast to the sentiment that everything is survivable each September when her dream home, a stately Victorian that she and her husband purchased, becomes a macabre nightmare: blood seeps from walls, disembodied moans howl like the wind, and there is an increase in appearances of ghosts of former residents who met untimely ends. With surprisingly good humor despite the circumstances, Margaret is determined to stay put, diligently washing walls and paying little mind to otherworldly roommates, but after three Septembers, her husband reaches his breaking point and leaves. This absence means little to Margaret until the couple's adult daughter makes her first visit to the house one September, intent on finding out why her father isn't returning her calls, and Margaret must balance fielding her daughter's questions while going to increasingly extreme lengths to keep the ghosts at bay. VERDICT The metaphor is layered and at times heartbreaking, as secrets held by both a house and a family come to light with terrifying poignancy in this wonderfully eerie debut.--Emily Vinci

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2023
Orlando's debut is a ghostly psychological tale of victims of unrestrained violence and murder. Margaret and her husband, Hal, had transient upbringings and always desired a permanent home. Just after buying the ideal Victorian house, they discovered it was haunted but remained intent on staying anyway. In September, the paranormal activity escalates to extreme levels, only to die back down in October. Margaret believes if she follows the rules, everything will be okay, because the rules apply to the living and the dead. And after four years in their dream house, she knows which specters to avoid and how to avoid them. Hal, not so much--which may be why he left just before their fourth September was to begin. When their estranged daughter Katherine, who has been trying unsuccessfully to reach Hal, decides to come for her first-ever visit, Margaret is distraught. It is September, and she is unsure how to protect Katherine from the ghosts' increasingly violent antics. Offer this to fans of spooky haunted-house tales like Grady Hendrix's How to Sell a Haunted House (2023).

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.