OLD SOUL feels like quite an epic read,

There is a lot of story in OLD SOUL, so it was not a book that I felt like I could relax in. There was a lot of story and a lot of plot, but I ended up really liking that the story was so detailed. I had to keep telling myself to slow down to really enjoy the story and not try to go through the story too quickly to find out what happens.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion, this review is all my own.

When I read the blurb comparing this book to The Historian, one of my favorite books, I was thrilled to get a copy on NetGalley. It’s well written with an interesting premise, I just wish I’d enjoyed it more. I did like the different testimonies of people who had come into contact with the lady. I hated not having quotation marks and wasn’t thrilled with the epilogue. This is more supernatural than horror as well. Again, not a bad book just wasn’t the book for me.

This is definitely one of my favorite horror novels I’ve read. The premise was very interesting, and I was hooked throughout the story trying to figure out what was happening and how it was going to end. This wasn’t very scary as far as horror books go, but it was quite unsettling in the best way.

I saw some reviews that said they felt the story went on for too long, but I didn’t think so. Each chapter felt important to me as we got to know more and more about the characters and piece things together. The different characters introduced all felt believable, and even though many of them weren’t likable, I found myself feeling sorry for them and everything they were put through.

Overall I highly recommend this book and will have to check out more by this author!

This was one of my most anticipated for January! May have been my fault as I had really high expectations.

There was SO much to keep up with. We follow Jake on his journey to try and find answers as to what happened to his best friend a decade ish earlier. On this journey we meet a lot of different people who have their own individual experiences with this entity. And each story is very fleshed out. That is unfortunately how the story lost me.

With each persons story, I found myself become less invested instead of more... I felt like we would never get to our final destination and with each chapter it seemed to lose all horror/intensity/dread that it had in the first bit. It picked up a smidge around 80% where we got some answers but it felt like a super long hike where the end just didn’t seem to be worth it. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending but I get it.

May be better for readers who enjoy character driven literary fiction possibly as there, in my opinion, was not as much horror involved? I didn’t feel anything that I usually feel when I read horror and maybe if I went into it with a different mind set, it would have been a different review? I’m a mood reader and I went into this with a certain mood. I didn’t get what I thought it was going to be.

That by no means it was bad, it’s definitely worth a read and it will find its audience for sure.

OLD SOUL
By Susan Barker

Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons (January 28, 2025)
Hardcover $26.97
Audiobook $14.18

Reviewed by Ashley Riggleson

I loved Susan Barker’s earlier novel, The Incarnations, so I requested her newest work, Old Soul, without even reading the synopsis. And although Old Soul, a literary horror novel, feels like a departure from her earlier work, I loved it. Barker is a writer to watch.
Old Soul has two plotlines. One is told as a set of testimonies transcribed and compiled by a man called Jake who is interested in learning more about a very dangerous woman. This quest starts in Japan, where he meets a woman called Mariko. Mariko’s brother has died under mysterious circumstances after meeting a female photographer. And as with all her victims, his organs, upon examination, are shown to be reversed.

Doctors later claim that this is a terrible genetic condition, and Jake and his interviewees are the only people convinced that anything criminal or otherworldly has occurred. Yet as the novel continues, readers see the same pattern play out with multiple people in different parts of the world, including in Jake’s own life. The question then becomes, “Can Jake stop this woman before she kills again?”

The other plotline of the novel follows a young woman called Rosa. Rosa is in danger, that much is certain, and readers follow her as she is lured into the Badlands by a woman with sinister purposes in mind. Despite the woman’s many experiences manipulating her marks, it soon becomes clear that some can intuit her true nature. As the novel unfolds, Barker builds heart-pounding suspense that will keep readers burning the midnight oil to reach what promises to be an epic conclusion.

Although Old Soul is a horror novel, it was the prose that appealed to me first. I am primarily a literary fiction reader, and Barker’s style, as well as her confident use of imagery, drew me in immediately. I am convinced that Barker could write about any setting at any time, and her sense of atmosphere would always be on point.

So, reading Old Soul put me in a unique conundrum: Should I read the novel quickly to find out what happens? Or try to slow down and savor a novel that brings readers so completely into its world while deftly exploring themes of power and mortality? I did a little of both until finally I was so in thrall that I could not put off my curiosity any longer and read the last third without coming up for air.

I do not know whether highbrow readers will consider Old Soul to be an “important” novel, but I maintain that Barker’s style, sense of atmosphere, prose, and character development are flawless. This novel is well worth your time. Old Soul is one of my favorite novels of the new year, and I hope that many readers will discover its many pleasures.

Ashley Riggleson is a free-lance book reviewer from Rappahannock County. When she is not reading or writing book reviews, she can usually be found playing with her pets, listening to podcasts, or watching television with friends and family.

This review was originally published in FXBG Advance,

This book had me on the edge of my seat. The artistry it took to build this story is stunning and the suspense made it very hard to put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. A unique horror story, done well.

Old Soul by Susan Barker follows Jake and Marika who both missed their flight. During the conversation they soon realised they are connected in a very mysterious way. They both have lost loved ones under similar circumstances after meeting the same woman.
This was soooo creepy and intriguing I loved it! Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good timeline switch novel, with different POVs and strong character development...this book had all of that. This was a thrilling, gripping and eerie novel that was so poetically written. The story was so unique as well, which I loved as a horror fan!

"Old Soul" by Susan Barker is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s the perfect mix of literary horror—dark, unsettling, and completely gripping. But what really makes it stand out is the writing. Barker’s words paint such a vivid, eerie picture that I was completely hooked. I stayed up way too late, flying through the pages, both scared and unable to put it down. The prose has this almost dreamlike quality that pulls you in, making the whole experience even more intense. This one is going to stick with me for a long time, and I can’t wait to check out more of her books!

Old Soul by Susan Barker is a beautifully crafted novel that explores themes of identity, memory, and reincarnation. The story follows Jess, a young woman who begins to experience memories from past lives, uncovering a deeper mystery about who she really is.

Barker’s writing is poetic and immersive, blending the past and present to create a story that is both haunting and introspective. Jess is a relatable protagonist, and her journey to understand her multiple identities across time is deeply engaging, even if the pace is slower than some readers might prefer. The novel is more about emotional depth and philosophical exploration than action, making it a thoughtful, character-driven read.

While the pacing can drag at times, the emotional resonance and rich prose make Old Soul a compelling read for those who enjoy reflective fiction with a touch of the mystical.

Actual Rating 3.5

This one is a tough one for me to rate. By about 20% through the book, I was sure this was going to be a 2-star read (at best) for me, but the deeper I got into the book the more I ended up enjoying it.

There were a few main things that kept me from loving this one. The first is that there are no dialogue tags or quotation marks (why??). This bothered me to no end at the beginning, but by about halfway through I realized it seemed to be working in the book's favor. It did something with the characters, making things feel detached and keeping the author from having to do in-depth dives of the characters and their feelings. Normally this would break a book for me, but I can't explain why it ended up working well with this book. I didn't really feel any connection to Jake's character or POV, though. Jake was the driving force behind the investigation and revealing of information, but something didn't click with me with the POV, never felt anywhere close to being alive or easy to connect to.

The other POVs consisted of interviews relating to past victims which were told in a narrative form, and chapters from the antagonist's POV. I generally quite liked these parts, and the way they began to come together in the second half of the book was satisfying. I loved the explanation of the antagonist, and felt that the information relating to it was revealed at an excellent pace throughout the story.

If you enjoy slow burn creepy/unsettling literary fiction with supernatural/magical realism elements, then you may love this one. My thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book starts out with a very slow creepy feeling about something very wrong with this mysterious woman and what she is doing to people, leaving a trail of odd corpses and bewildered friends and family behind her. Going back and forth between the interviews that Jake is collecting to learn more about this mysterious woman, and her own story as she searches for her next victims really drew me in. Sadly, the lack of quotation marks for any of the speaking part kind of was confusing sometimes trying to figure out who was speaking and if it was a thought or said out loud. It made the middle drag a bit. But it picked back up when we got to the Sculpter's story with her interactions with E. and I sped through the rest of the book. The explanation for why E. was like how she was also was interesting...and creepy. And with that ending which shocked me and was unsettling for what it meant, it redeemed the middle part and made for a good story.

So, this was a slow horror and very unsettling good story. I would say just fix the speaking parts by adding the correct punctuation marks. Still good though.

This is a weird, unique and haunting book that I really enjoyed! The only thing was the ending didn't quite hit like I wanted it to (I wish it didn't end the way that it did as it felt a little rushed and all over the place.) I loved the writing style and the stories with each chapter or section.

I wasn't sure about this book, but I ended up enjoying it a lot! As the MCs try to find this mysterious woman, they travel across the world and meet other people who have come across her and you gradually figure out more. A literary-leaning thriller/horror for fans of more literary horror!

This is a slow build horror story that started out strong and got a little convoluted toward the middle and end. I don't mind a slow build, but this story lost me a couple times and I had a hard time caring about the characters. The chapters of the testimonies felt like a compilation of short stories and that format isn't my favorite. It was interesting enough to want to finish the story but by the time the ending came, I was ready to be done. It was creepy and tense which I appreciated.

"That's what happens in the higher place. You get flipped."

This tale of an evil shape-shifter through the centuries started out strong with many creepy moments, but it just dragged on too long. The momentum began to lag, and I lost interest in the narrative, forgetting characters who appeared again near the end of the book. The ending was decent, but by the time it finally arrived, I no longer cared.

Old Soul is definitely going to be in my top ten this year. I put the audio book on hold at my local library and there's a four month long waiting list. That's how good the story is. The book is amazing, and I'm curious if the audio book will be even better.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing Group for the ARC

I really enjoy when literary fiction gets weird, and this kinda fits the bill. In dual perspectives, a man follows a trail of witnesses and records going back centuries, similar to him in that they all lost a loved one in mysterious accidents after they meet a vaguely European woman with a camera; once she takes their picture, their loved one feels possessed, like something's rooting around inside them, and after their death it's found that their insides switched sides, as if they were born that way (none were born that way). During the search for answers, we also follow the woman herself, as she lures a young wannabe influencer to the deserts for a photoshoot, where we see what the woman does to these victims. It is a slow start, but once you're locked in, it's a race to the finish as the past catches up to the present. It's a creeping horror, as the pieces come together on both sides. Not all the witnesses are innocent in their grief, and while the woman is bringing something truly evil into their lives, she is not a faceless entity for good to triumph against. I'm a little torn by the ending in how quickly it wrapped up, but it does fit into the overarching cosmic horror of it all, and I really liked it.

I received a galley of Old Soul thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

This book was just published on January 28, 2025. When I saw the description, the cover, and some buzz about it on social media, I was excited to read it—despite the fact that this specific genre of literary horror fiction isn’t my usual type of read.

However, given my love of Victor LaValle’s Lone Women, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Claire Fuller’s Bitter Orange, and even how much I enjoyed Kelly Link’s The Book of Love, I was invested.

And this story did not disappoint. I was pulled in from the premise and the very beginning as Jake and Mariko realize that people close to them have died in disturbing ways after encountering “The Woman.” From there, Jake becomes determined to investigate whether this has happened to others, and the book unfolds through testimonies with common links throughout.

I thought the structure worked really well. The voices of the victims and the “old soul,” the Woman—whose identity shifts as she travels through time and across the world—were distinct and immersive.

The novel balanced a gripping plot with truly chilling moments (I was scared for these characters and creeped out when alone at night!). At the same time, it raised thought-provoking questions: At what cost would you pursue immortality? What would it mean for both yourself and others?

In that sense, it reminded me of a darker, more twisted The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and I loved it. I’m surprised this book isn’t receiving more buzz—it’s well deserved!