C.J. McGroarty’s The House on Chambers Road is a haunting and richly layered novel that weaves historical fiction, supernatural mystery, and emotional healing into a single narrative. It’s the story of Libby Casey, a grieving widow who stumbles across a colonial-era Georgian house that seems to call to her in unexplainable ways. As she peels back the layers of the house’s past, she also confronts the secret weight of her own guilt and sorrow, both of which refuse to stay buried. The novel dances back and forth in time, from present-day Pennsylvania to 18th-century colonial life, slowly knitting together the lives of those long gone with the living.

Reading this book felt like stepping into a fog and watching ghosts take shape—slowly, deliberately, with elegance and dread in equal measure. McGroarty’s writing is lush without being showy. Her descriptions pull you in gently and don’t let go. I loved the way the house became almost a character of its own, whispering through the walls, sighing through the floorboards. There’s something beautiful and sad about the way McGroarty captures grief—how it lingers in quiet rooms and unfinished conversations. Libby felt real to me in a way that made her struggles hit close to home. Her grief isn’t tidy. It’s jagged and painful, and that’s what makes her story compelling.

Some scenes stretched a beat too long, and I found myself wanting the plot to move faster, especially during moments of introspection. But then McGroarty would reel me back in with a sudden, eerie detail—a glove that doesn’t belong, a name whispered in the night, a dream that bleeds into memory. These small, chilling touches reminded me why I was hooked in the first place. The historical chapters, in particular, were vivid and emotionally resonant. Hugh and Miranda’s story added a quiet gravity, grounding the supernatural in something relatable.

The House on Chambers Road is a gentle, unsettling, and beautifully told story about memory, loss, and the way the past lingers just beneath the surface of the present. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy ghost stories with depth, character-driven fiction, or novels that explore the thin veil between history and now. If you’ve ever loved a house so much it felt like it loved you back, this book is for you.

Pages: 286 | ISBN: 1956615490