★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

By Grady Hendrix

When the parents of Louise and Mark are killed in a gruesome car accident the siblings are left with two things: their long simmering disdain for each other and the family house in Charleston, SC.

Louise had left the south years ago and moved to the west coast where she is now divorced and raising her daughter Poppy, who she is dreading leaving to go home for the funeral. Mark on the other hand had returned to Charleston and his parents after dropping out of school, the prodigal son returned (something Louise had never gotten over).

As if having to bury their parents wasn’t enough for Louise, Mark is chomping at the bit to have the will read to see who gets the house. But this isn’t just a run of the mill suburban house…it is the one their mother grew up in and is filled with their mother’s lifelong obsession: puppets, hundreds of puppets, including the star (that’s code for creepiest), Pupkin.

As the two struggle to decide if they should clear the house and sell it (Louise) or keep the house and heirlooms (Mark) strange and nefarious things begin to happen and it becomes clear that something has remained after their parents have gone.

How to Sell a Haunted House is the latest example of what Grady Hendrix excels at: giving us capital H horror through the lens of relationships we can all relate to- coworkers, best friends, neighbors and now siblings- so we can easily put ourselves in the action. Of all his previous novels I gotta say…this book is the scariest one yet! Seriously, you will be totally creeped out reading it and probably have to turn on the lights and if you have pupaphobia godspeed; you’re going to need to read this book outside in the daylight!

How to Sell a Haunted House will be released by Penguin Random House January 17, 2023. You can preorder a copy now on Amazon or anywhere books are sold; it is the perfect holiday gift for you and all your friends!