Adrienne L's Reviews > The Ghost Notebooks

4.5 stars

Hannah and Nick are a newly engaged couple living in New York City who decide to move upstate to the small town of Hibernia, after Hannah is offered the directorship of the historic Wright House and Museum. The Wright House was once the home of a little-known 19th century philosopher who dabbled in the occult after the tragic death of his young son on the property. Soon after their arrival, Hannah, who has suffered a breakdown in the past, stops taking her medication and starts spending her sleepless nights in the storage room of the house looking through old papers. When tragedy inevitably strikes, Nick is left reeling and becomes obsessed with finding out what Hannah discovered in the museum attic, at the expense of his own sanity.

I first came upon The Ghost Notebooks in the new release section of my local library shortly after its publication. I suspect it was there because I happen to live in the Hudson Valley not far from where the book takes place. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't entirely blown away. However, I would still find myself thinking about the story months and even years later after I had completely forgotten the title of the book. I guess you could say it haunted me in a very vague and insubstantial way, which is appropriate because the supernatural elements in Dolnick's book are vague and insubstantial themselves.

Although I wasn't a GR member at the time of the book's publication, I rather suspect that the fairly low average rating reflects a case of a book being marketed as something it is not, and the few negative reviews I've read confirm this. This isn't a Gothic horror story; it's barely a ghost story. It's a beautifully written and insightful study of relationships and grief.

When I did finally remember the name of the book, I purchased a copy immediately because I knew I wanted to read it again and find out why this book refused to leave my head entirely, even though it didn't exactly wow me on my first read. After this second time through The Ghost Notebooks, I don't regret my purchase. This book is almost, but not quite, a five star for me. And who knows if it won't end up increasing its rating when I pick it up again at some point in the future. It's too bad it never seemed to find it's audience.