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A Novel
by Bailey Seybolt
Sharp Objects meets I Have Some Questions for You in this haunting novel—inspired by a true story—about a crime writer who risks everything as she investigates the mystery of two deaths, decades apart, at a crumbling Vermont orphanage.
On a blistering summer day in 1968, nine-year-old Tommy vanishes without a trace from Coram House, an orphanage on the shores of Lake Champlain. Some say a nun drowned him, others say he ran away. Or maybe he never existed. Fifty years later, his disappearance is still unsolved.
Struggling true crime writer Alex Kelley needs a fresh start. When she's asked to ghostwrite a book about the orphanage—and the abuses that occurred there—she packs up her belongings and moves to wintry Burlington, Vermont.
As Alex tries to untangle the conflicting stories surrounding Tommy's disappearance, her investigation takes a chilling turn when she discovers a woman's body in the lake. Alex is convinced the death is connected to Coram House's dark past, even if local police officer Russell Parker thinks she's just desperate for a career-saving story. As the body count rises, Alex must prove that the key to finding the killer lies in Tommy's murder, or risk becoming the next victim.
Drawing inspiration from the real-life stories of St. Joseph's Orphanage, Coram House "reckons with both the long aftermath of violence and the hazards of writing true crime. It is an eerie, suspenseful mystery, sure to find readers among fans of Tana French" (Flynn Berry, author of Northern Spy).
"Seybolt blends true crime and fiction in this absorbing debut. Seybolt skillfully blends points of view. Part Gothic novel (with creepy Coram House playing a role) and part investigative reporting procedural, this will both disturb and fascinate readers." —Booklist (starred review)
"She delivers an intriguing plot with plenty of twists and turns, but unfortunately none of the characters, including Alex, is very sympathetic, and it is hard to get invested in the story when none of the characters has a clear tie to the missing boy. Seybolt's first effort is a solid mystery that fans of atmospheric thrillers may enjoy." —Library Journal
"Atmospheric and chilling, Coram House reckons with both the long aftermath of violence and the hazards of writing true crime. It is an eerie, suspenseful mystery, sure to find readers among fans of Tana French." —Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy
"Coram House is the perfect thriller—the kind you race to finish and simultaneously hope will never end. It checked every box for me: relatable amateur sleuth; lush, gothic setting; mystery spanning from past to present; and—no small feat—a surprising, inevitable, perfectly satisfying ending. This debut marks the entrance of a thriller writer to watch. I can tell already I'll be following Bailey Seybolt the way I follow Tana French. I can't wait to see what she writes next." —Kate Brody, author of Rabbit Hole
This information about Coram 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.
Bailey Seybolt grew up in New York City. She studied literature at Brown University and creative writing at Concordia University. She's worked as a travel writer in Hanoi, a tech writer in San Francisco, and many writerly jobs in between. She now lives with her family in Vermont, not far from Lake Champlain. Coram House is her debut novel. Find out more at BaileySeybolt.com.
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