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Book Summary and Reviews of The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

The Haunting of Moscow House

by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

  • Published:
  • Sep 2024, 384 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In this elegant gothic horror tale set in post-revolutionary Russia, two formerly aristocratic sisters race to uncover their family's long-buried secrets in a house haunted by a past dangerous—and deadly—to remember.

It is the summer of 1921, and a group of Bolsheviks have taken over Irina and Lili Goliteva's ancestral home in Moscow, a stately mansion falling into disrepair and decay. The remaining members of their family are ordered to move into the cramped attic, while the officials take over an entire wing of grand rooms downstairs. The sisters understand it is the way of things and know they must forget their noble upbringing to make their way in this new Soviet Russia. But the house begins to whisper of a traumatic past not as dead as they thought.

Eager to escape it and their unwelcome new landlords, Irina and Lili find jobs with the recently arrived American Relief Administration, meant to ease the post-revolutionary famine in Russia. For the sisters, the ARA provides much-needed food and employment, as well as a chance for sensible Irina to help those less fortunate and artistic Lili to express herself for a good cause. It might just lead them to love, too.

But at home, the spirits of their deceased family awaken, desperate to impart what really happened to them during the Revolution. Soon one of the officials living in the house is found dead. Was his death caused by something supernatural, or by someone all too human? And are Irina and Lili and their family next? Only unearthing the frightening secrets of Moscow House will reveal all. But this means the sisters must dig deep into a past no one in Russia except the dead are allowed to remember.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. How did the author meld elements of gothic horror, folklore, and real history in this book?
  2. What does Moscow House represent? How does the setting shape the story?
  3. In the beginning of the novel, Irina and Lili decide to secretly get jobs with the American Relief Administration. Given their controlling aunt, their Bolshevik landlords, and the danger of working for Americans, would you have done the same? Why or why not?
  4. Do you believe that the past never dies? Why or why not?
  5. How does sisterhood grow and change for Irina and Lili throughout the course of the novel? Conversely, how does each of the sisters come of age individually? Which sister did you identify with more?
  6. How might the sisters' ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The fantastical Russian setting may appeal to Gilmore's die-hard fans, but the plot moves at a glacial pace with little intrigue and fewer genuine scares to sustain it. This disappoints." —Publishers Weekly

"Olesya Salnikova Gilmore's sophomore novel is a Fabergé egg confection: post-Imperial Russian history filigreed over classic gothic suspense...The Haunting of Moscow House will delight history lovers and gothic mystery lovers alike!" —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

"An atmospheric and gripping novel, The Haunting of Moscow House transports readers to the chilling streets of post-revolutionary Russia and a grand, mysterious mansion brimming with deadly secrets and the ghosts of the past. A must-read for lovers of gothic suspense!" —Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of The House on Biscayne Bay

"With graceful, captivating prose, Gilmore weaves a haunting tale of post-revolutionary Russia, about confronting the ghosts of a painful past to find hope for the future. Eerie and atmospheric, romantic and heartrending, The Haunting of Moscow House is a gorgeous historical gothic." —Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep

This information about The Haunting of Moscow House was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore was born in Moscow, Russia; raised in the US; and graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in English/political science, and from Northwestern School of Law with a JD. She practiced litigation at a large law firm for several years before pursuing her dream of becoming an author. She is most happy writing historical fiction and fantasy inspired by Eastern European folklore. She lives in a wooded, lakeside suburb of Chicago with her husband and daughter.

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