Night Falls on Predicament Avenue
Night Falls on Predicament Avenue
By: Jaime Jo Wright
[Fulfilled ‘Book with a house with secrets’ for Shelf Reflection’s 2024 Reading Challenge]
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2024]
“Norah was more certain than ever that this house was a tomb that sucked hope from the hearts of anyone who occupied it. It was as if the sun had gone down at 322 Predicament Avenue the night Naomi’s murdered body had been found, and it had never risen again.”
“The house at 322 Predicament Avenue held secrets, and they were screaming out to be revealed.”
Wow! This was a great read! It’s a spooky dual-timeline book about a haunted house— the place of the only two murders in the small Iowa town of Shepherd, one recent, one from 1901.
I admit, the cover of this one didn’t really draw me in, but this is definitely a book I would recommend.
I don’t love ‘supernatural’ books that can blame ‘spirits’ for weird happenings. Sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn’t. Without giving too much away on this one, I will say I really liked how it all came to be revealed.
If you’re looking for a spooky read this fall, add this to your list!
Basic Premise
1901 (I read an ARC and Goodreads says 1910 so this may have been changed): Effie and Polly James— teenage sisters— go on an adventure to knock on the door of the town’s ‘haunted house’ on Predicament Avenue (a kids’ tradition in that town). But when they reach the porch they hear a woman’s screams. Polly peers through a window and sees something shocking. They flee to get help. When the police show up there are no signs of a murder but the girls know what they heard and saw. An Englishman (Mr. Anderson) shows up looking for his wife and together he and Effie try to figure out what happened at the house and if his wife was involved.
Present day: Norah Richman operates a bed and breakfast out of the house on Predicament Avenue. It’s been in the family, but Norah does not enjoy her work. She is only doing it to carry out the dream of her twin sister, Naomi, who was found murdered on the property 13 years prior. The house’s history has drawn a true crime podcaster, Sebastian, to her B&B to investigate for himself. When a guest ends up dead and his wife claims they saw a ghost, Norah faces a potential lawsuit and is forced to partner with Sebastian to uncover the secrets of the house.
“Death had been a guest here at Predicament Avenue for decades, and it was clear that Death wasn’t ready to check out quite yet.”
Two murders. Years apart. But the similarities between the two unsolved murders are uncanny.
“Evil never really goes away. Once it stains a place, the mark remains for generations. its horror is repeated. It rises from the grave to haunt.”
The chapters alternate between Effie and Norah’s timelines, but we also get chapters that are just titled ‘Her.’ These explore the woman’s imminent death and the evil deeds of her life that she must come to terms with. She has accepted her fate.
“A reality that is unavoidable. I have dug the pit of my own grave and am simply waiting to be placed inside of it. It will happen soon. When night falls on Predicament Avenue.”
What I Loved
I loved that it took place in a small town in IOWA.
I loved the ending and felt like the twists were very well done.
I loved that we got the spooky vibes and haunted feels without demonic forces or too much gore.
I loved how it explored the deep and profound themes of death and fear and grief.
The author notes in the back:
“Effie feared death. Anderson feared grief. Norah feared living. Sebastian feared himself, the inadequacies of who he felt himself to be as a father, instead cheating himself of the greatest gifts God can bestow.”
And then we had ‘Her’ who was “broken by the struggle between right and wrong.”
I thought that was a great combination to weave into this store of a haunted house and its secrets.
Jamie Jo Wright writes for suspense and enjoyment, but she doesn’t leave us in a dark story of death and despair. She leads us to a hope and a light in the darkness. It’s not overt through the whole story but as she wrapped it all up, she cleared the path out.
“This is evil at its core. Fear. Fear is a lack of hope and a belief in the murder of our dreams, our lives, and even our salvation. But if I’ve learned anything during my stay at 322 Predicament Avenue, it’s that to live— to truly live— is to hope that there’s a deeper purpose for our lives. That a person’s life, no matter how short or how long, how peaceful or how turbulent, how adventurous or how tragic, is not wasted.”
“‘We can’t be afraid to live just ‘cause we’re afraid of dyin’. Seems to me we’d be better off seekin’ out the truth of it.’- - ‘The truth of what?’- - ‘The truth of what comes after.’”
I thought it was interesting how Wright kinda uses this ‘haunting’ aspect to depict grief. It’s an interesting similarity to think about.
“We’re afraid of death in part because we’re afraid of the grief that follows. Death is momentary, but grief is what’s left behind. The remnants of every memory, every moment, every emotion. Grief is all the unspoken words that will never be said, the lost I-love-yous, and the emptiness of the shadows they leave behind. Grief is a demon that stalks.”
I think that’s a profound realization. It encapsulates the very real feelings of grief. And I think it also identifies the dangers of certain kinds of grieving. It is not bad to grieve, but if we allow our grief to haunt us and leave us empty, we have allowed the past and the impossibility of the future we wanted too much power over us.
“Tears of missing someone aren’t tears that lack courage. Instead, you have the courage to feel the empty spaces, but hope for when they’ll be filled again.”
I think ‘right’ grieving shouldn’t trap us and shouldn’t leave us empty. Not if we believe that God’s ways are higher than our own. Not if we trust that his way of filling us, though different than our ideas, is still good and right.
The stalking demon of grief keeps us from the light and hope that we have in Christ. Grief is real and painful and God doesn’t ask us to ignore it or push it down, but he does command us to look to him, not the shadows and the empty spaces. There is no fear in his love.
Randos
I always find it interesting when I end up reading books with similarities one after the other without having planned it. There were a few threads in this book that I’ve read recently.
Polly becomes somewhat mute after the traumatic witnessing through the window of the house. I’ve read 3 other books recently that have had mute girls: Gallant, Please Tell Me, and House of Glass.
I’ve also read a few books lately about this idea of grief and how life is worth living. We can’t let fear or grief keep us from the joy of living. I suppose that’s a common enough theme, but not always for the books I end up reading so I thought it was interesting that I’ve read so many in such a short span: The Midnight Garden, The Lonely Hearts Book Club, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder.
I really don’t have much criticism for this book. The only things that come to mind are very minor:
The way Wright wrote the British accent for Sebastian was really hard for me to grasp and hear in my head. the leaving off of the ‘g’s and endings of words made it sound more Southern in my head. Maybe it was supposed to be more cockney? I don’t know, but I wish I could have heard the right accent when I read his parts.
[Somewhat a SPOILER] Polly was the one who witnessed the murder but was so sick or in shock that she couldn’t talk about it. When she finally came to speak it felt anticlimactic that she didn’t really have any new or explosive information. It would have been more exciting if she was finally able to give them a clue of some sort.
Recommendation
I would definitely recommend this book! It’s the perfect October read.
This was my first book my Jamie Jo Wright. She also wrote The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater that has been on my TBR. After reading this book, I will definitely be checking out her other books! It looks like her other books have a similar vibe to them, so if you like this one I think you’ll have a pile of reading ahead of you.
She is a Christian fiction author, and like I mentioned, there is evidence of that towards the end of the book, but I think readers who aren’t Christians will have no problem enjoying this book.
Well, unless you’re looking for some sort of horror/slasher kind of spooky with demented characters, lots of blood and cursing…. because that is definitely not in this book.
So go get this book and prepare yourself for the lovely month of October!
[Content Advisory: some scary vibes and jump-scare type of scenes, no swearing, sexual content, or demons]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
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