Cover of Help for the Haunted

Help for the Haunted

It begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

Read more

Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.

As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family's past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years.

Audience
adultyoung adult
Length
medium · 362 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Help for the Haunted? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Help for the Haunted. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Deadlight Hall Shares mystery, horror, paranormal
  2. (un)DEAD (Detective Saussure Mysteries) Shares mystery, horror, paranormal
  3. Slenderman Shares mystery, horror, fiction
  4. Rivers Shares fiction, suspense, adult fiction

“People who read Help for the Haunted tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Mother, Mother
  2. Brewster
  3. The Longings of Wayward Girls
  4. The Small Hand and Dolly

“If you want more of the same (mystery about murder), start with these.”

  1. The Winslow Incident
  2. The Dazzling Darkness
  3. Scott Nicholson Library, Vol 4
  4. Children of the Fog

“If it was the horror that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The Grove
  2. The Ruth Valley Missing
  3. Jane Was Here
  4. Graveyard Games

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Letting You Go
  2. Everything We Ever Wanted
  3. Faultlines
  4. In the Middle of the Night