What I'm Reading: The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

My last Booklist review of the year went live last week and it's a good one. The upcoming Gwendolyn Kiste and it's a STAR. This one is going to be very popular and I would order it right now.

STAR

The Haunting of Velkwood

By Gwendolyn Kiste

Mar. 2024. 320p. Saga, $26 (9781982172374). 
First published December 1, 2023 (Booklist).

Kiste (Reluctant Immortals) presents what is sure to be one of the most original and riveting Horror novels of 2024. 20 years ago a single block, deep in the suburbs, slipped into its own dimension, locked behind an inaccessible veil. Everyone was lost, save for three girls who returned to college the night before. Talitha, now 40, has never recovered from the trauma of that day, but when a researcher entices her back to try to make contact with her little sister, Talitha stops running from Brett, Grace, and their shared past in order to finally move forward and allow the ghosts to rest. Both an atmospheric, character centered story that lays bare the horror of suburban malaise, exposing its dark underbelly encrusted with monsters both real and supernatural, and an ode to the forgotten women, who are powerful enough to save themselves and even the world, especially if they band together and let love pull them through. Reminiscent of Kiste’s award-winning, heartbreakingly beautiful, debut, Rust Maidens, fans of titles as wide ranging as Good Neighbors by Langan, The Ghost That Ate Us by Kraus, and Sister, Maiden, Monster by Snyder, will love getting trapped in the Velkwood Vicinity.

Further Appeal: This novel should easily get Kiste another LAMBDA literary award nomination. She won last year for Reluctant Immortals in Bisexual Fiction and this is a better novel.

This entire novel is a metaphor for the horror of coming of age and the suburbs. The tone is atmospheric building to terror and it features complex and nuanced characters. Here are some more of my appeal notes: 

• So much more thought provoking than it seems on the surface. 
• Her overall theme of forgotten women who have the power to save themselves and the world.
• Riveting, utterly original.
• "Their love will pull them through." I am leaving that one here. It refers to multiple character and situations.
• Real monsters as well as the suburban malaise. 
• The strength of women when they work together-- a theme in all her books.
• Words in the running for 3 words: Compelling, riveting, great characters, suburban ennui, very original supernatural situation/monster, thought provoking, heartbreakingly beautiful. 
• I started this book and when I paused for the first time, 75 pages had blown by.
• This is a book from an author who has aged in years and only gotten better in her craft. This is like Rust Maidens all grown up. I realize there is a "grown-up" dual story line in Rust Maidens, but this is like Rusty Maidens older sister.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Suburban Malaise, Riveting, Thought Provoking

Readalikes: Besides the three above, I also think Queen of Teeth by Piper and Reprieve by by Mattson both have connections here. Clearly there is an X Files vibe to this story, especially the researcher character and his workers. And Blake Crouch fans might also like this one, although it is less SF.

It is a novel that will have wide appeal and its SF-Cosmic Horror frame is just a smidge over reality that the anxiety it induces feels real. But it is the characters that tipped this one to a star.