Del Sandeen's This Cursed House has everything I want in a spooky season (or honestly anytime) read. It's a little bit spooky, there's wrongs of the past that must be corrected, and there's a whole lot of dysfunctional family dynamics happening. The vivid way that both the setting and the characters are described, I was able to put myself right into that southern mansion, and almost picture myself sitting down to dinner with the Duchon family. This is one of the strongest debuts I've read this year, and I will be anxiously awaiting Del Sandeen's next book.

4.5⭐️ Twenty-seven year old Jemma Barker is looking to escape her life in Chicago, and the spirits that haunt her. But when a nannying job leads her to a family with their own unique curse, Jemma uncovers how much more there is to the story than meets the eye.

What a debut! From the go, I was completely transported to The Duchon’s house in 1962 New Orleans. On its surface, this book is indeed a southern gothic horror novel, with the corresponding themes, making it perfect for spooky season. And yet it goes so much deeper, exploring themes of generational trauma, racism and passing. And I think it’s this combo that sets it so far apart from others in the genre.

The audiobook, narrated so brilliantly by Chante’ McCormick, is spectacular. Not only does she do an exceptional job breathing life into our FMC, who I found to be one of the most dynamic and interesting characters I’ve read of late, but the audio manages to amp up the dark, gritty, and creepy atmosphere to another level. Immersive reading (pairing the physical or ebook with the audiobook) is the best way to go with this new release.

Read if you like;
▪️Southern gothic horror
▪️paranormal elements
▪️historical fiction
▪️strong MCs
▪️New Orleans setting
▪️atmospheric reads
▪️heavier themes of racism and “passing”

Thank you Berkley Pub for the gifted copy.

She's traveled from Chicago to New Orleans, her visions have accompanied her every step of the way. The escape she planned is not to be, in fact, our MC has joined a family unable to leave their home, she's their hope to break the curse that holds them hostage. THIS CURSED HOUSE has the feel of a gothic with a family so desperate for release, they will call a truce of sorts. But this house is not ready to give up it's hold. Del Sandeen has joined the long list of writers able to hold their readers spellbound.

Jemma Barker is desperate to escape Chicago when her man cheats on her so she takes a job as a tutor for a Duchon family in 1962 New Orleans. There she finds racial attitudes are far more rigid than in Chicago. The Duchon family is weird, they can pass for white and live in a negelected mansion but are terrified of a curse that will have a family member dying every seven years. Jemma was actually recruited to stop the curse and after a lengthy set-up we find out why she is the chosen one. A mix of racial prejudice with a nifty gothic ghost tale moves this novel along. There is some repeating of scenes that take quite some time to resolve as Jemma interacts with family members in the same way over and over again. The secret to the curse is somewhat revealing but a bit too pat as Jemma morphs from uncertain newbie to taking complete charge of the family. A flawed but solid effort.

This is the perfect book for spooktober.
I loved the southern gothic vibes and the 1960s era! The author did an amazing job transporting me to the south during a tumultuous time for black people. I loved the MCs POV, reacting to the south after arriving from Chicago.

With curses, ghosts and a family that seems not quite right, this is the perfect book for spooky season. It's not too scary, just creepy enough to give you the chills.

Ever read a book that is so good, when you finish, you want to read a book just like it - or if that’s not possible, go back in time to before you read it and read it again anew? THAT’S how I felt about this book. It’s 100 percent one of my top books of the year.

When Jemma’s life in Chicago falls apart, she’s offered a job with the Duchon family in New Orleans. Though they are also black, they “pass,” so they look down on her for her dark skin - but that’s not even the half of it. Because they’ve brought Jemma to their plantation home for a very special reason: to break a curse that they believe only she can, for a very important reason.

I don’t want to say more because it’s best to go in without much more information than that. Because whooooo, does this book take you on a ride. If you feel like your family is screwed up, let me introduce you to the Duchons. And with each new twist, my mouth just dropped open farther and farther. It was so good. I was addicted and I did not predict the wild journey at all.

There is so much emotion and so many issues dealt with in this book, it made me think about so many things; from race and class, to identity and family. Del Sandeen can weave a full and layered tale.

And even this book was such a great depiction of New Orleans, a city I love. It showed the good and the bad - something that I find important. This time period had as people struggled with the civil rights movement. It wasn’t utopia, but people found friends, a place, and moments of happiness in a unique and beautiful place. I loved seeing the shoutouts to Tremé and references to other landmarks in the city.

Just get this book. That’s all I can say.

A southern gothic horror book, with a cursed family unable to leave their house? Sign me up! This book 's overarching theme was dread, and the Duchon family trying to outlive the family curse. The Duchon family has been trapped on their property for 28 years, and each year, one of them is killed in an unthinkable way. When Jemma Barker leaves Chicago to work for the Duchon family as a tutor in New Orleans, it's a breath of fresh air for the family, and for the first time, they believe the curse can be broken. Can Jemma help cure their generational trauma and unravel the secrets keeping them at home?

I'm giving this book 4 stars, as I loved the plot and atmosphere of this book. The characters were well-written and it was a nice slow burn of a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC!

A Southern Gothic about a young Black woman who's new job at a mysterious family is much more than she bargained for since they are all under a curse... and only she can break it. Jemma Barker is a twenty-seven-year old woman in 1060s Chicago who just found out her boyfriend cheated on her and she lost her job... so when she is invited for another job for a mysterious family that is willing to pay a lot, who is she to say no? The job is for the Duchon family in New Orleans... only when she gets there she discovers that the family is light enough to pass for white and that the Black family members look down on her for her brown skin. The members of the family are strange and soon she discovers that they are under a curse that only Jemma can break.... but will she? This was definitely more of a gothic read than a horror novel, I was hoping it would be horror but it leaned heavier on the slow gothic vibes. It's a good read if you like slow gothics but it just felt a bit too slow for my liking. It's a good book overall it just felt okay to me.

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Bravo! What a debut!

Prepare yourself to be transported into New Orleans in the 60’s. Sandeen absolutely kills the atmospheric vibes from the heat to the racial inequality.

The plot to this one is so intricate that I don’t want to risk giving anything away, so instead here are a few teasers to see if you might be interested!

This book has it all:
🍂 Curses – I mean the title says it all!
🍂 Ghosts/Hauntings – What is happening in this house?!
🍂 Generational secrets – The Duchons are full of them!
🍂 Social commentary – From slavery through the 1960’s in America
🍂 Southern Gothic vibes – Perfection!
🍂 Tension – Featured in both the plot & between characters
🍂 Layered mysteries – Just when you think you know…you don’t
🍂 Vivid imagery – Again…perfection!

My only gripe (and it’s very much a personal preference) was the pacing. I wanted the pacing to match the way the tension was making my heart beat. I was reading as fast as possible to get some answers!

I can’t wait to see what Del Sandeen comes up with next!

I do really love a ghost story, and one that adds some additional themes like family strife, generational trauma, colorism, and racism is just going to be that much more interesting. I really enjoyed THIS CURSED HOUSE, which follows Jemma, a Black woman from Chicago in the early 60s who has been hired to work for a wealthy family in New Orleans. The Duchon Family is white passing and looks down upon Black people with dark complexions, but they need Jemma because they think that she is the person who can break a devastating family curse. As for Jemma, not only is she finding out some of the worst family secrets and dynamics, she's also seeing ghosts everywhere. This Southern Gothic ghost story isn't just about wandering spirits or curses, but also the way that American racism haunts this family, and how it haunts us all. It's a chilling read perfect for Halloween.

It’s 1962 and Jemma Barker is desperate to leave Chicago. When a letter arrives offering her a position in New Orleans working for a prominent family, she readily accepts — only to discover the Duchons aren’t what they seem. The family has been under a curse for 27 years and they believe Jemma is the one person who can break it.

Sounds FASCINATING, right? A Southern gothic novel, curses, family secrets that run deep. Everything about this book immediately appealed to me…until I started reading.

It feels like THIS CURSED HOUSE doesn’t know what it wants to be. Jemma’s speech and attitude felt modern (was ‘shitting bricks’ a common saying in the South in the 60s?), while the Duchons could have been pulled from a turn-of-the-century novel. Though trapped in their house, they do have access to the outside world through their television, phone, radio. Yet they came across as firmly rooted in the 1800s.

Tight editing (SO much drama and ¡PlOt TwIsTs!) could have helped this book immensely; 384 pages is far too long for what the story boiled down to. Major heads up to check out the content warnings before diving in — there are some extremely heavy and disturbing moments within these pages.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC!

A standout debut, Del Sandeen’s atmospheric novel, This Cursed House, manages to expertly encapsulate all things hauntingly Gothic. The year is 1962, and Jemma Barker finds herself taking a job in New Orleans as what she believes to be a tutor for the Duchon family. However, her arrival from Chicago proves to be a little more than she bargained for; the South in the 1960s looks much different, the heat is oppressive, and the Duchon family is peculiar, to say the least. As secrets are revealed, Jemma soon realizes the unfathomable truth of the Duchon family, and her role in their plight to break a years-long curse. Jemma’s story is one that is drenched in mystery, darkness, and intrigue, one that will linger long after the last page is turned.

This Cursed House is a novel that nails so many themes and feelings in ways that feel markedly natural to Jemma’s reckoning with the Duchon family. Most obvious of all is the setting of this story, 1960s New Orleans, a time and place marked by the struggle for equality and the end of segregation. New Orleans has always been home to ghostly tales of haunted houses and restless spirits, but Jemma’s circumstances within the Duchon home mirror that of the Civil Rights movement occurring in the city and, to some degree, within the confines of the Duchon’s isolated domain. Sandeen writes the members of the Duchon family with a flair of elitism given their lighter skin tone and their wicked attitude towards Jemma. There’s a great deal of inequality, a large amount of rage-inducing behavior, from the Duchons that adds to the simmering tension and wickedness of the already claustrophobic atmosphere crafted by Sandeen.

Perhaps most startling of all is the nature by which every page of this novel seems to reveal a deeper, darker secret. The sins of the past have festered long enough for the Duchon family, and we are privy to these reveals laced with drama right alongside Jemma. From the very first page, Sandeen’s writing instills a connection between the reader and Jemma, making these staggering secrets land with a notable punch. This also lends itself to making this a hard-to-put-down story with every death, every injury, and every misdeed ramping the stakes higher and higher.

Above all, This Cursed House is a story of reckoning, a tale drenched in moody atmosphere to deliver a unique environment for curses, ghosts, and the like to play freely. These various elements combine to deliver a meaningful message of atonement, of taking a look into the harsh mirror of the past and coming to terms with the damage done. Del Sandeen writes this story with ghosts and curses, but the true horrors can be attributed to very human hands, to the misdeeds of family, and to the rotten secrets of the past.

Thank you to NetGalley, PRH Audio and Berkley Publishing Group
for providing me with an advanced copy of this book and audiobook for free in exchange for my review! @prhaudio #PRHAudio #PRHAudioInfluencer
All opinions are my own.

I was expecting this book to be somewhat similar to Mexican Gothic, and after reading it, I have to say that I actually think I enjoyed This Cursed House EVEN MORE than I liked Mexican Gothic. Even though this book was billed as a horror novel, I thought it was more creepy than scary and there was only some parts of the book that I found a bit too intense for my taste.

For the audiobook portion, I thought Chante McCormick did a really great job and I loved how she voiced the different characters in the story. I was not familiar with her narration, but after listening to this story, I would definitely consider listening to more books narrated by her in the future!


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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I recently finished reading Del Sandeen's debut This Cursed House and found it to be a middling read. The author's writing style was simplistic though not in an insulting way and the characters felt underdeveloped. This work was poorly-plotted with too much detail in some places and not enough in others. Additionally, the ending not only dragged on but was unsatisfying. Admittedly, I started reading the story on my Kindle and switched to audio about 50% of the way in and that might have some bearing on my opinions of this novel. Though I wouldn't say it's a must-read; I still give this book 3/5 stars.

Jenna Barker is heading south fromChicago for the muggy wilds of Louisiana. She has been hired to tutor the child of Duchon family. However, when she gets there, she finds the Duchons, but no child. No, they have hired Jemma for another purpose. they’ve hired them to break the curse that keeps the family from leaving their property. And dying, for 1 member of the family dies every 7 years.

This book is full of secrets, spirits, and good ole Southern Gothic charm. And a touch of voodoo. I’m so surprised this is a first novel for Sandeen. She skillfully weaves her tale of mystery with instances of colorism (the Duchon) family is light enough to pass as white, Jemma is not), betrayal, and death. Highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the digital ARC of this novel. Opinions are my own.

In This Cursed House by Del Sandeen, the author has created a haunting Gothic tale that explores racism, colorism and how letting go of hate leads to acceptance. The author quickly leads you into the narrative as soon as you meet Jemma, with atmospheric writing and subtle hints of secrets as soon as Jemma enters New Orleans.
As Jemma works for the Duchon family, it is the secrets, the strangeness of the family that kept me intrigued as Jemma attempts to solve their curse. The layers of racism, the complexity of how they treat Jemma in their colorism and toxicity are slowly unpeeled to reach right to the heart of the horrors that have been endured in their house. And as those secrets are revealed, Jemma must decide if it is worth saving the family from their curse.
If you like novels that are exceptionally well written, haunting gothic tales, and novels that reveal the layers of racism and colorism that still exist in our world, then this is worth reading. The historical aspects make it compelling but the secrets of the family, the layers to the curse, will be what will haunt you as much as Jemma is haunted. It is a riveting story from beginning to end.

Southern gothic horror at its finest! In 1962, Jemma Barker leaves Chicago with the promise of a new job in New Orleans with the Duchon family. They are very vague on what it is exactly that Jemma will be doing for them, but Jemma agrees to the new salary and home as she has nowhere else to turn.
The Duchon family are very strange indeed and Jemma can feel the wrongness within the home. Seems Jemma was asked to come break a curse that will not allow the Duchons to leave their home and winds up killing one of them on Jemma's birthday every 7 years. Apparently, Jemma is a long-lost Duchon and because her mother was the one to curse the family, she must be the one to break the curse.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this e-arc.*

Horror fans, snap this one up as soon as you can. The writing is tight and evocative, lending just the right amount of tension to the story. I was skeptical about whether the author could hold my attention in a story driven by a curse, but she managed it just fine. The story is imaginative and scary, held up by the fact the author is very skilled at her craft.

Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley, for my free copy for review:

When Jemma, nursing a broken heart and jobless, receives an irresistible offer in New Orleans, she finds herself swept into the enigmatic world of the Duchon family. Little does she know that she's about to uncover their dark secret and the pivotal role she's destined to play in breaking their curse.

As an avid fan of gothic novels from any era, I was instantly drawn into "This Cursed House," which transported me to the atmospheric setting of 1960s New Orleans. From the very beginning, I found myself deeply invested in Jemma's journey, eagerly following her every step.

The author masterfully paints a vivid picture of the isolated Duchon manor in St. Louis, creating an eerie small-town ambiance that sent chills down my spine. The house itself becomes a character, with its secretive inhabitants, a mysteriously mute housekeeper, and ghosts that only Jemma can see. These elements combined to keep me utterly captivated throughout the story.

What truly sets this novel apart is the author's skillful build-up of tension. As a reader, I felt compelled to uncover the hurried secrets alongside Jemma, an experience both chilling and harrowing. The central mystery of who cursed the family and the events of the distant past kept me engaged and guessing until the very end. It brought to mind the haunting quote, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children," which resonates deeply with the narrative's themes.

Despite their outward beauty, the Duchon family harbors an ugly core of hatred and racism. This juxtaposition adds a layer of complexity to the story, forcing us to confront uncomfortable truths about human nature. The novel doesn't shy away from touching on heavy themes such as slavery and racism, while also exploring the powerful concept of forgiveness.

Its blend of supernatural elements, historical context, and deeply human struggles creates a rich, multifaceted reading experience that I found both entertaining and profoundly moving. 'This Cursed House' is a haunting tale that will linger in your thoughts.

In the early 1960s, Jemma (from Chicago) has been hired by a family who live on a plantation just outside New Orleans. Jemma is a teacher and assumes that she will be tutoring. The Duchon family are all light-skinned Black people and although they say they are “proud coloured people”, they look down on Jemma’s darker skin. Jemma also has an ability to see ghosts, and there appear to be a few around this plantation. She is in for multiple surprises the longer she stays with the backwards Duchons, and only one of those surprises is what they have hired her for.

This was really good. I was pulled in early on, and the surprises continued to come. The Duchons are a piece of work, though I think the author does do a good job of showing multiple sides to a couple of them, and there are reasons why some of them are the way they are. Given the time period and place, there is some historical fiction thrown in to this horror/ghost story, as well, which I quite like.