Paper Ghosts
- Judith D Collins
- Apr 18
- 2 min read
ISBN: 9781250283429
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 09/01/0206
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (AR)
The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Other Birds hailed as “whimsical, wise, and delightfully mysterious.” (Real Simple)
Every family has its secrets...The Wester women live inside theirs.
For generations, Wester House has stood as a monument to influence and mystery in a small North Carolina town, and the Wester women have held the community enthralled. People respect them, many fear them, but no one truly understands them. How do they possess such an intimate, unsettling knowledge of those around them? Why is no one ever allowed inside the house? And why is Willamena Wester finally reaching out to the granddaughter she once pushed away?
The Westers have always balanced their need for control with their desire for love, but when that balance is off, disaster happens. To truly understand, you have to meet Willamena fifty years before. As a love-struck young woman trapped in a stifling, picture-perfect life, she makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.
Now Willamena's granddaughter, Bailey, is coming back to a town she tried to outrun, only to realize that the grandmother she feared was actually her fiercest protector. In a world of hidden truths, can a legacy of unhappiness be unmade? And what does it take to finally break a curse? Bailey is about to learn that even the oldest hauntings can be healed by a new spark of hope.
Sarah Addison Allen’s stunning prose, steeped in magical realism, will transport you to a place where enchantment is around every corner, and love finds a way of bringing us home.
About the Author
Sarah Addison Allen is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of eight novels. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Allen is widely credited with bringing “Southern Magic Realism" to the mainstream. Her work, characterized by its romantic, lyrical prose and its exploration of family dynamics through a supernatural lens, has been translated into more than thirty languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.
Allen’s debut novel, Garden Spells (2007), became a breakout success and an indie bookseller favorite, spending weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her subsequent works—The Sugar Queen (2008), The Girl Who Chased the Moon (2010), The Peach Keeper (2011), Lost Lake (2014), First Frost (2015) and Other Birds (2022)—have each been bestsellers, garnering acclaim for their "quiet magic" and subtle, folkloric elements integrated into contemporary Southern life.
The daughter of a journalist father and a mother who was a celebrated cook, Allen grew up in a household where storytelling and food were the primary languages, elements that now define her fiction. She attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, graduating with a degree in Literature. At age 39, Allen took a hiatus from publishing following a diagnosis of late-stage breast cancer. Her return to writing was marked by a shift toward more complex, poignant narratives that resonate with a global audience.
Allen’s most recent project, Paper Ghosts (2026), continues her tradition of blending mystery with the supernatural. She currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina with her family. WEBSITE
