Ghost Mother - by Kelly Dwyer (Paperback)

About the Book

Lilly Bly is struggling with infertility issues when her husband, Jack, gets a new job that moves them from Chicago to a small Wisconsin town. After Lilly falls in love with a decrepit mansion well out of their price range--she's convinced she'll finally get pregnant there--Jack reluctantly agrees to buy the wreck. But when Lilly learns that her dream house was the site of a triple homicide/suicide in the 1950s, she begins to experience strange occurrences that soon lead her to believe the house is haunted. Are her ghostly encounters real, or is this a cascading mental breakdown? As Lilly learns more about the deaths and her visions become increasingly vivid, her relationship with Jack deteriorates, leading to a dramatic and irreversible climax.

Book Synopsis

Ghost Mother is a mesmerizing psychological ghost story that blurs the thin line between reality and delusion.

"Ghost Mother has so many pleasures: a gorgeous old wreck of a house, a charmingly flawed and sympathetic heroine, supernatural goings-on so real they feel historical, an incredible sex scene, no spoilers, and an enthralling story. It's the perfect summer book."
--Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner award-winning author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger

Lilly Bly desperately wants to have a baby. She is struggling with infertility and bad spending habits when her husband, Jack, gets a new job that moves them from Chicago to a small town in Wisconsin. Impractical Lilly falls in love with a decrepit mansion well out of their price range--she is convinced that she will finally get pregnant and have a baby in this house--and Jack reluctantly agrees to buy the wreck. But when Lilly learns that her dream house was the site of a gruesome triple homicide/suicide in the 1950s, she begins to experience strange occurrences that soon lead her to believe the house is haunted. Are her ghostly encounters real, or is this a cascading mental breakdown? As Lilly learns more about the deaths and her visions become increasingly vivid, her relationship with Jack deteriorates, leading to a dramatic and irreversible climax.

Perfect for fans of classic, gothic horror fiction, like Henry James's The Turn of the Screw and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, as well as contemporary suspense and horror fiction by everyone from Stephen King to Ruth Ware.

Review Quotes

"Dwyer's atmospheric, multilayered ghost story explores the ways strong desires can manifest."
--Library Journal

"Ghost Mother has so many pleasures: a gorgeous old wreck of a house, a charmingly flawed and sympathetic heroine, supernatural goings-on so real they feel historical, an incredible sex scene, no spoilers, and an enthralling story. It's the perfect summer book."
--Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner award-winning author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger

"Ghost Mother is a moving, thrilling ride! I was so caught up in the mystery of the narrator's possible haunting, I couldn't stop reading until I learned the story's many secrets. I've read ALL the best haunted house novels, but none of them have shocked me more at the conclusion than this mesmerizing plot! A must-read for those who love ghost stories."
--Mona Susan Power, author of The Council of Dolls, National Book Award longlist

"OMG I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Ghost Mother! I couldn't put it down and sobbed through the final twenty pages. It reminded me of du Maurier's Rebecca and, of course, Edith Wharton's ghost stories, though the style and tone belong purely to the singular Kelly Dwyer."
--Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year

About the Author

Kelly Dwyer, a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, published two literary novels back in the '90s: The Tracks of Angels and Self Portrait with Ghosts. She's also written plays that have been produced in New York; Boston; Madison, WI; and Glasgow, Scotland.