Feb 14, 2022

Book Review: The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power

Official blurb:

Trust No One. Especially Your Neighbors.

Rachel Drake is on the run from the man who killed her husband. She never leaves her safe haven in an anonymous doorman building, until one night a phone call sends her running. On her way to the garage, she is murdered in the elevator. But her story doesn’t end there.

She finds herself in the afterlife, tethered to her death spot, her reach tied to the adjacent apartments. As she rides the elevator up and down, the lives of the residents intertwine. Every one of them has a dark secret. An aging trophy wife whose husband strays. A surgeon guarding a locked room. A TV medium who may be a fraud. An ordinary man with a mysterious hobby.

Compelled to spend eternity observing her neighbors, she realizes that any one of them could be her killer.

My thoughts:

I think he’s going to kill me.

The Ghosts of Thorwald Place starts right where any ghost story should, with death. But this is more than a ghost story. Thorwald Place is home to a community of people dealing with their own hurts, troubles, and worries. This could almost be called “Behind Closed Doors” for the delving into the mess and chaos that hides behind the friendly, guarded smiles and greetings of neighbours.

Rachel is a woman in hiding. She’s cut herself off from old friends and new. With no family either, her apartment in the exclusive, high-security Thorwald Place is her sanctuary and her universe. When the demons from her past seem to have caught up with her, she realises that even here she is not safe. She discovers the danger lurking in the building the night she escapes her self-made prison; the very night her throat is cut ear-to-ear.

And so begins a story of self-discovery. Rachel pushes the boundaries of her ghostly state and attempts to find out who murdered her. Her hands slip right through everything she tries to touch. No one can see or hear her. And there seem to be some pesky rules for ghosts. The twists and turns in this mystery are epic. Just when Rachel thinks she’s worked it out, she realises she has no clue. And who are these other ghosts in the basement?

I really enjoyed reading this one. Like Rachel, just when I thought I’d figured it all out—not a clue! I love a good side story and author, Helen Power, has not scrimped with the neighbours. As Rachel peels back the layers, she discovers (as do we) hidden stories she was oblivious to in life. Each neighbour is woven into the tapestry and connected with intricate stitching and well-placed knots. With each apartment the ghostly Rachel enters another puzzle is uncovered. Power leaves clues like crumbs throughout the story. Adding to the riddle of Rachel's murder is the unraveling of Rachel's past, the guilt and fear she carries with her every breath, and the connection to her current conundrum.

Mysteries within mysteries, drama layered upon drama, and twisted connections kept me turning pages far past my bedtime.

About the author:

Helen Power is obsessed with ghosts. She spends her free time watching paranormal investigation TV shows, going on ghost walks, and telling anyone who’ll listen about her paranormal experiences. She is also an academic librarian living in Saskatoon, Canada and has several short story publications, including ones in Suspense Magazine and Dark Helix Press’s Canada 150 anthology, Futuristic Canada. The Ghosts of Thorwald Place is her first novel.