GHOST FROM A YARD SALE

In Roth’s supernatural thriller, life at a couple’s new home becomes an array of increasingly unnerving events.

Successful horror novelist Caspar Finch derives inspiration from the places he moves into specifically for their grim histories. His wife, Harper, is still adjusting to Moxie Manor, an Ohio Catholic church converted into a home. But it’s the farmhouse across the street where she first spots a ghostly girl; the family that lived there vanished a year earlier. When Harper buys a baby monitor at a yard sale (to keep an eye on her mischievous border collie, Twix), Harper sees the same girl, who is named Riley, on the monitor’s screen. Believing the device was formerly Riley’s, Harper searches the small town for more of her things (like a Polaroid camera) to “bring [Riley] back.” She gets help from her sister, Mara, and the two unexpectedly run into a vicious dark figure. Caspar, meanwhile, dreams of grotesque creatures, and it’s not long before they’re attacking him in real life—along with other victims, including his publicist, Eliza Jenkins, and Scott Sedge, the PI who works for Caspar. Roth’s action-laden horror tale sets terrifying encounters in various memorable locales, including Moxie Manor. Strange and terrible incidents (paranormal sightings, murders, assaults, disappearances, etc.) abound in the narrative, which can become a bit overwhelming. There are some unforgettable set pieces, from Caspar engaging in back-and-forth conversations with Twix in apparent dreams to cringe-inducing moments with tiny writhing things. Most of the characters are satisfyingly fleshed out: Harper continues to grieve after losing her daughter to a miscarriage; Caspar was once a homicide detective; and there’s a dark secret involving Sedge’s late wife. Supplementing the text are photographs stylized to look like Polaroids, mostly depicting the converted church (an actual domicile where the author and his family lived for a time).

A horror outing that delivers, thanks to its memorable settings and robust cast.