Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller
Published by Delacorte Press on January 26, 2021
ISBN: 0525581200
Pages: 384
Genres: Horror, Mystery
Format: Fiction
Goodreads

Don’t Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller is the type of creepy mystery that grabs you right from the start and will have you reading late into the night. Bram is our 17 year old heroine who has suffered some serious traumas in Manhattan. The death of her father, sexual assault and addiction are compounded by the lack of support she received from her distant mother. She heads to the small town of Louth to live with her uncle in a spooky old manor he’s restoring as an inn. The locals believe the manor is cursed, as several young women living or visiting there in the years since it was built in 1890 have died there or gone missing. Uncle James’ second wife, Dahlia died there as well in a fire allegedly set by her daughter Lark, who seems to have gone insane after burning down half the manor. But Bram believes there is more to all the stories, even though she herself sees and hears the eerie things that go bump in the night. 

 

This story will give you the shivers, even as you’re rooting for Bram to solve the mystery of all the “Dead Girls”. The author also very cleverly shows us how easy it is for young women to be ignored and dismissed as crazy or hysterical even now in our society, and what the consequences are when no one listens. This book will appeal to anyone who loves a good gothic horror with a feminist twist.

 

Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

Lee Remick, York Middle School, York