Mark and Louise, siblings who hate each other, have to come together in the wake of their parents' tragic death. In particular, they need to sell their family home. But the house is haunted by their mother's collection of church ministry puppets, a wild premise that leads to some wonderfully bizarre and terrifying scenes. The family dynamics, as Mark and Louise try to repair their relationship amid the emergence of family secrets, also add some serious drama to the proceedings.

Grady Hendrix does it again. How to Sell a Haunted House is a creepy, campy story about a family's trauma and their haunted house. I don't want to go into too much detail because I think the details of the haunting are better as a surprise. Trust that this book is weird and funny and one of the author's best. Definitely recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Grady Hendrix said he wanted to make a “traditional” haunted house story, and I can’t say this one is actually a classic style other than it DOES have some moments taking place in a old family house and it DOES have a haunting.

🛑 STOP HERE if you don’t want any possible spoilers…However, if you’re curious about the actual plot point, proceed.

This book is not so much the house as it is something else that is haunted…there are dolls and creepy puppets and this book has its own strange twist that I wasn’t expecting. Hendrix has a definite style in how he likes to do horror.

CAMPY. Okay, he likes it CAMPY.

So, don’t let the title fool you, this isn’t Haunting of Hill House style, instead this book is more Chuckie adjacent. I couldn’t take it serious at times even though something spooky was happening but I also wasn’t laughing…so.

However, I do think it partially goes deeper than maniac killer puppets- The story examines grief, tragedy, and coming to terms with mortality. Also, I think the main villain of this story was symbolic for generational trauma?
If so, I respect it.

Grady Hendrix has a fun way of writing that I often forget I’m even reading and just get lost in the story. Which I appreciate.

There were some inconsistencies and at times it felt absurd, but I was also very…disturbed. Numerous scenes caused me to feel uneasy, so I think Hendrix succeeded in what he set out to do with this one.

Overall, this was a bit hard for me to rate because although I think Grady is a talented writer, I didn’t love the book. I felt a bit bamboozled that it wasn’t really a haunted house story, but actually a weird puppet situation. Not scary, but unsettling, yes. It missed the mark for me in that regards.

If you like unique stories with some creepy scenes and some silliness then this may work great for you.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review

I really enjoyed other Grady Hendrix books in the past but this one was not for me. However, if you like campy horror this book might be for you. The plot was a little silly but also very horrifying. My major problem with the book was the characters. I didn't like any of them and couldn't get myself to care what happened to them. The book was also very slow to start and then felt incredibly rushed toward the conclusion.

Grady Hendrix books are always a hell of a lot of fun, but this one might be his best yet. The characters and the story itself have a lot of heart, and the pacing is fantastic. Be prepared to fly through this one!

When Louise gets a call from her brother saying their parents have died in an accident, she heads home to Charleston figuring it will be a quick back and forth from her home and her daughter in San Francisco. Nothing goes as planned, and she's soon mired in the remnants of her childhood; her mother's dolls, puppets, a brother she can't stand and a house to empty and sell. There are strange noises in the house, the dolls keep moving around without her help, and she may just be in danger from things she thought she left behind. This is deliciously creepy and there were a couple of nights when I couldn't stop reading and then regretted having to shut the light off and face the darkness....

HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE is a highly perturbing novel, both due to its terrifying Supernatural elements (by themselves those would be enough to make me "all shook up") but by the depths of, if not exactly depravity, then of foolishness, selfishness, and gross generational deception, throughout several extended families. Those themes I found both griefworthy and highly depressing. However, the talent of Grady Hendrix lifts the novel far above simple Horror and severe family dysfunction and makes it compelling and engrossing.

Caution: contains references to child fatality, self-muilation, gore, physical and psychological pain, surgery, dolls, puppets, fire, drowning.

I broke out of my comfort zone with a new genre. How to Sell a Haunted House is a gothic mystery and horror story from Grady Hendrix.

When Louise finds out her parents have died unexpectedly, she must return home to settle the estate with her estranged brother. She is faced with a house stuffed full of her father’s academic files and her mother’s collection of dolls and puppets. Together the siblings must face past family secrets and work together to prepare the house for sale. This house is more than just cluttered, this house is haunted!

A scary, modern horror story layered with family drama. At times terrifying, sometimes humorous and heartfelt. Hendrix’s characters are multilayered and believable. His detailed descriptions bring the house and setting to life. Major goosebumps from my first title by this author, a master of the spooky

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Grady Hendrix has done it again. Another weird, funny, fun, tragic, and every other adjective you can think of to describe just about anything. To this day, he remains the master of horror fiction, and this was another title to add to his creative approach to the horror genre of writing and storytelling. Is it my favorite of his catalog? Probably, not. But I still enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to those looking for a horror tale that is equal parts compelling, funny, a family story, and just a really good ghost story.

Another great Grady Hendrix modern horror, this time about creepy puppets, dead parents, and estranged siblings. As usual the characters are well drawn, believable, and complex - they deal with unbelievable events but in a way that makes gut level sense. (Creepy puppets. I had to read it in the daytime.)

Was a fun ride
And spoiler, if you don’t like dolls or puppets don’t read this.

I loved the psychological aspect of this puppet following a family for over 40 years.
Like these people have had history in this one house forever, and the grandmother manipulated the grandkids to fight over who would inherit it. And of course she chose the wrong sibling for this.
In hoping he would stay and live in the house, not try to sell it.

A mental and a little bloody story

This book is weird, in a good way. Family dynamics explored Here are fairly typical, but with the haunted house as a backdrop things turn tense and odd fairly quickly.

Grady Hendrix nailed it yet again. This book contains not only a terrifying horror plot, but also a story about intergenerational trauma, family secrets, and the things we inherit and pass on. Definitely suggest readers of horror give this one a try!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!!!! This was a fantastic, gripping horror novel about two adults, Louise and Mark, who have just lost their parents to a car accident. Louise lives in California with her 5 year old daughter, Poppy, but flies home to the East coast alone for the funeral and to sell the family home.

Things start to go awry when Louise comes back to the family home for the first time in many years. Her mother, Nancy, was a puppeteer — she had hundreds of puppets and dolls all over the house. And Louise begins to hear things. Up in the attic. In the walls. In the vanity in the bathroom. And finally, voices in her head. And it’s just not her that feels the house has bad vibes — after confronting her estranged brother Mark, she finds out that he, too, feels the horrific energy emanating from the house. Or is it the dolls?

This novel is broken into five parts and i honestly wondered how the author was going to top part 3, but part 4 was just as amazing. This is true horror at its finest and I urge you to pick this novel up. The plot is original; the characters and their backgrounds are fantastic and well thought out. 5 ⭐️

This might be my favorite Grady Hendrix novel. He specializes in reimaging horror tropes in a way that is fresh and always with humor. And while the horror action is front and center, I think this book has something to say about family and grief and parents and children and, of course, siblings. Really fun! Minus one star for some really looooong action sequences - not my jam.

Very few horror books do I find legitimately scary.. How to Sell a Haunted House is one of the creepiest novels I have read in a long time. Hendrix excels in creating feelings of dread. Not going to lie, I slept with the lights on after reading this.

QUICK TAKE: Is Grady Hendrix okay?? Someone might want to do a wellness check, because this book is OFF THE WALLS BANANAS. 70 pages in and I thought to myself "this is the most grounded Grady book I've ever read". Page 71: cut to a full-blown puppet funeral procession. Nevermind. Regardless, I had a blast reading this, and to give any more details would spoil the fun. Kerkachee!

Super creepy and all-around strange story. I loved it. There were parts that were a little confusing, and that's why I gave it just 3 stars, but for the most part it was an enjoyable read. I was a child with a ton of stuffed animals and I always pretended they were real and had emotions and feelings. This book sure made me rethink hanging onto all those old toys of mine and my son's. Crrrreeepppyyyyy!!!

I started reading this book expecting to be scared (as a huge Grady Hendrix fan, I thought I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.) What I wasn't expecting, though, was the emotional punch this book packs--or just how long it would stay with me. Not only will I make sure this book gets added to our collection, I think this is going to be one I recommend to customers for a long, long time.

Although not my favorite Grady Hendrix book, this was still a great read! It really goes into the nitty gritty of how families react after a loved one has passed.