This one was very different for me, so I don't know exactly how I feel about it.
It started great! I was excited to get into the mindset of Jemma and without knowing too many facts, I do feel the representation of this era was justified (if not correct).
However, I got sick of the constant repetitive narrative. I found myself skipping chunks and even chapters at times and didn't notice any gaps in the story.
I'm glad they did finally get to the reason for the curse, and although it made sense, I feel that the writer intentionally left a few tiny gaps for the reader to fill in themselves. This is the reason for a 3 star rather than a 2.
I'm not sure if I'll try historical fiction again however. I don't think it's for me.

A 4.5* winning read for me.

'This Cursed House' is an extremely impressive Southern Gothic Horror Debut from Del Sandeen that drew me in from minute one. It's an uncomfortable, eerie and suitably spooky read that is also full of sadness, loss and gives an insight into man’s inhumanity to man.

There are areas of repetition and where the editing could may have been a little tighter and the characterisation of Jemma at times was frustrating as a reader but it didn't detract from the power of the story for me as it drew on so many areas that I love to read about - Ghosts, lies, family secrets, Black American history and the always timely notion that the sins of the father are visited upon the children. History can never stay hidden or forgotten and the way this is demonstrated in this book was moving, shocking and unforgettable.

I will absolutely be keeping an eye on this author’s future releases!

Thank you to Penguin Random House | Michael Joseph and Netgalley for inviting me to read an eArc of "This Cursed House" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

It started off really well. A creepy house with a creepy family who were locked in the house. They couldn't leave because of the curse. I was invested

Then it just seemed to go round the same storyline many different times. I started to struggle to pick it back up.

It was too slow burn for my tastes

I’m a big fan of Southern Gothic stories and This Cursed House didn’t disappoint. Set in the ‘60s, we follow a Black woman called Jemma Barker, who has been hired to work at the Duchon family mansion in New Orleans. Although she thinks she’ll be working as a tutor, it soon becomes clear that the family actually want her to break a curse (something she has no idea how to accomplish).

The story has great atmosphere, from the oppressive Southern heat to the grand mansion that has seen better days, and plenty of spooky elements, including curses, ghosts, and dark family secrets. I thought the real-life horrors involving slavery and racism that were present were fantastic, but I would have liked a little more from the supernatural horrors. Although Jemma herself is certainly afraid of the ghosts, there’s only a few moments where they actually do anything creepy. I also would have liked the pace to be a little quicker, but lovers of a lightly spooky slow burn will really enjoy this one!

This is a book that really took me by surprise. If you'd have asked me at the start of the year if it was one I would be planning to read, I'd have likely said no, but I was drawn to the blurb, and I am so glad I was too. This book ticked all of my boxes, transporting me to 1960s Louisiana, and a mysterious and reclusive family who intrigued me from the moment we met. Del Sandeen has written a beautifully descriptive, often chilling, gothic mystery that is packed with secrets, and characters whose nefarious and sometimes malicious intent is carefully masked until just the right moment.

From the very beginning of this book I was getting strong The Skeleton Key kind of vibes. The stories may differ, but it is that kind of Southern Gothic chill that was invoked not only by the setting, the locally infamous Duchon mansion, but also by the kind of goosebump inducing vibe that is just the right kind of unsettling. Not all out, in your face, horror, but just that fractious sense of unease and the knowledge that the entire family, even the house itself, maybe, are nursing secrets that will be the key to Jemma surviving her new employment. I like that the author played it that way, introducing the idea of the voodoo and superstition that are inherent in Louisiana culture, but not overwhelming the story with them. They play a part, but they are not the whole story. In fact, the real horror of this story lies in the damage that very real, flesh and blood, characters are willing to inflict upon others, not necessarily in some summoned spirit set on vengeance.

That said, there are some supernatural elements to this story. Jemma has a very particular talent. She is able to hear, to communicate, with the dead, whether she wishes to or not. And it is for this very reason, and one other that remains secret until just the right moment for a reveal, that she is summoned to the Duchon home, albeit under false pretences. And although she would rather turn her back on her talents, it is this that she needs to embrace in order to understand who she really is. I liked Jemma. She was a great character to spend time with. Flawed in many ways, but the more we learn of her past the easier it is to understand. Rather than running away, as she believes she is, in truth she is running to something, although she cannot begin to understand what. She is the perfect blend of strength, vulnerability and determination, even if sometimes she allows herself to appear weak, She has a stubbornness to her and is, I think, someone people will really be able to identify with.

The setting is perfect, allowing us to easily fall into the idea of otherworldliness of Louisiana. But the Duchon mansion, and the history behind it and the families isolation is perfect. A home, and a group of people, trapped in time. They are very real, but so distant from the real world, that it makes Jemma stick out almost like a saw thumb. It is not just the heat of the South she is unprepared for, but that start contrast between a Chicago summer and a Louisiana one is a spot on metaphor for the contracts between Jemma and the Duchon's. I loved the family dynamic - so twisted and sneering, led by Matriarch, Honorine - and, along with her extended family, both children and grandchildren, you have such a contrast of characters, making it so hard to guess any of their motives, or, ultimately to trust them. The things we uncover about them will make you angry, and sad to a degree, but they certainly kept me turning the pages.

This is a brilliant gothic mystery, exploring the subject of racism and slavery, family and revenge, all wrapped up in the perfect package that chilled and intrigued, made me both angry and reflective, but ultimately delivered a small slither of hope, and perhaps,in some ways, reluctant acceptance that there are many leopards who simply cannot change their spots. I'll certaintly be looking out for more by Del Sandeen as she delivered a book which I can most definitely recommend.

In 1962 Jemma Baker decides to leave Chicago and start a new life somewhere else. She had been happy there working as a teacher and living with the man she loved, But that all changed when he started an affair with another woman who is now pregnant. After losing her job following a suicide attempt, Jemma placed an ad in the paper seeking work as a tutor. Excited to receive an offer of employment from the wealthy Duchon family in Louisiana with a generous salary, she jumped at the chance to escape without asking for details of the job.

Travelling to Louisiana was a bit of a shock for African American Jemma. She had always felt accepted in Chicago, but Jim Crow law is still in force in the south and Jemma encountered segregation for the first time, making her feel unwelcome. Once she arrived at the Duchons’ fading antebellum mansion, she discovered there were in fact no children in the family for her to tutor and it wasn’t exactly clear what she has been hired to do.

In this accomplished debut novel exploring topics of racism, slavery, family and forgiveness, author Del Sandeen has generated a perfect Southern gothic vibe, both chilling and suspenseful. The Duchon family are eerily beautiful and decidedly creepy, dressing in outmoded clothing and never leaving the house and grounds. Ruled over by the matriarch, Honorine, the household consists of her widowed son and daughter, two grandchildren in their twenties and a maid, Agnes who is mute. Calling themselves coloured despite being able to pass as white, they say they are proud of their black heritage, but view darker skinned Jemma as racially inferior.

At first, Jemma thinks the family are just strangely reclusive and don’t want to mix in society. But then she discovers that a number of family members have also died at regular intervals and there is a much more sinister explanation for why they have been trapped in their home for twenty seven years. It’s one that she is now expected to resolve so that they can once again go out into the world.

As the narrator, Jemma is a likeable, well drawn character, both strong and resourceful. Although, it’s not always clear what motivates her to help this strange family when they treat her so poorly, she does discover that she has a strong link to them going back to her birth. Her ability to see the many ghosts in the house contributes to the eeriness and this aspect could perhaps have been played on more to add to the ethereal atmosphere and tension. The Duchons are portrayed as selfish and insular with their weird behaviour and relationships with each other adding to the unsettling undercurrents in the house.

Ghosts, curses, long hidden secrets, and a horrific and shameful history of slavery all contribute to the atmosphere of this gothic novel. It’s not an intense terror packed horror novel, but rather a slower burn of a sinister tale based on an intriguing premise.

I struggled to get into this novel at first. I found it took a while to set the scene but then the more I read, the more dark, tense and atmospheric it became. The descriptions are evocative and emotive. It’s a tale of secrets, lies, deception and wrongdoings with characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished the novel. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

I really enjoyed this atmospheric gothic horror.
From the very begining things don't feel quite right about Jemma's new job and as soon as she enters the Duchon house things get creepier and more chilling the longer Jemma stays.

This is a long book but the secrets start being revealed quite early on and I was surprised how quickly we discovered the curse.

I really liked Jemma as a main character and was rooting for her throughout.

This book is great for readers who enjoy a slow burn gothic horror. Although not really scary, it is eerie and atmospheric. I do feel it could have been a bit shorter as some parts did feel quite slow but overall a great debut.

This book is very creepy ,full of secrets and lies and strange spirits .The very well off Duchon Family have not left their home for 28years because of a curse and they need Jemma to find a way to release them ,only she doesn't know this and thinks she is being employed as a tutor .Set in 1962 in New Orleans when racism was at it's worst all is not as it seems. A gripping compelling story that had a satisfying ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

This is a new author for me. I really enjoyed This Cursed House. The book is set in the Deep South in the 60’s and I loved the chilling, gothic atmosphere. As you can imagine, due to the era and setting of the book, racism is a core theme and is often more disturbing than the supernatural events depicted. I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions and the feelings of dread this book evokes. It’s very creepy and unsettling and I kept being pulled into the story. This is an interesting and captivating read. I’d recommend it.

Set in Deep South, New Orleans this is a classic gothic horror set in the 1960’s that I really enjoyed and it was a great debut novel also. The book also deals with the racism of the time and that part I found more disturbing than the actual main story line of curses, spirits and hidden secrets all of which were well written.
The characters were all good some likeable and some not and I really liked the main character of Jemma. I felt the book started a little bit slow and took its time with the reveals but once the pace picked up it was a read I enjoyed.
Y thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Gothic and dripping with atmosphere and tension, This Cursed House delivered a chilling Southern gothic tale about a house, a curse and the Duchon family. I loved the vivid descriptions and the feeling of dread and emotion that this book evoked. The Duchon family have bene cursed and have not left their home for almost 28 years! Can you even imagine? The isolation, the boredom, the lack of outside stimulation, lack of socializing? Being stuck with the same people/family members day after day, week after week, year after year!

Jemma Barker has received a very generous job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans. Jemma jumps on it. She wants to leave her life in Chicago behind and start over. Upon arriving in New Orleans, Jemma notices people are welcoming until they hear she will be working for the Duchon family. Then they become guarded and cold; often warning her against working for them. The family can't be that bad, can they?????

Upon arrival she learns she has been brought there under false pretenses, and that their ulterior motive is a dark one. They have been cursed and believe that she is the only person who can break the curse. Talk about pressure!

This book is full of secrets, spirits, lies, deception, atmosphere, tension, dread, hope, and anger. This book had a very creepy vibe to it. I loved the setting and the unsettling something-isn't-quite-right vibe which flowed throughout the book. Plus, Jemma can see spirits/haints in the home. She has been able to see spirits her entire life, but it is still unsettling and scary for her.

The characters range from the likeable supporting characters of Dennis and Magdalene to the many unlikeable main characters in the Duchon family. There were also a few characters which I felt sorry for while reading. Imagine being stuck with the same people day after day, week after week, year after year -UGH!

I thought the author did a tremendous job of showing colorism and how the Duchon family, who were light enough to pass as white, looked down on anyone, including Jemma, who had darker skin. Plus, the amount of family secrets this family had was enough to make my head spin. The unraveling of those secrets made for interesting and captivating reading!

This book played out like a movie in my mind. As I mentioned this was a very atmospheric gothic southern tale that was equal parts chilling and tense. There were a few twists and revelations along the way which kept me fully invested in the plot and turning the pages.

"This Cursed House," is a compelling Southern Gothic horror novel that revolves around Jemma, the protagonist. Jemma is enticed by a lucrative job offer in New Orleans from a wealthy family. Jemma Initially thought she was hired as a tutor for their children, but soon discovers that there are no children in the household. So, the question is why has she been hired?

The book takes its time to build a gothic atmosphere, and although it took me a while to fully engage with the story, the creeping sense of unease and unexpected plot twists ultimately made for a satisfying read. However, I did find certain parts to be repetitive, and the book could have been more concise. Nonetheless, the ending was gratifying and neatly resolved the storyline.

Despite the unlikable nature of most characters, they are well-developed. Jemma stands out as a likeable character, and I believe the story could have been just as engaging with her as the sole focus.

Overall, "This Cursed House" constitutes an impressive debut novel, and I am eager to explore more of the author's work in the future.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for providing me with a digital review copy (eARC) of "This Cursed House." The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, and I have shared them willingly.

Initially, this didn't grab my attention, but it picked up later, and I enjoyed it. The story follows Jemma, a Black woman from Chicago who receives a job offer from a family in New Orleans during the early 1960s. As she travels to Louisiana, she encounters segregation and Jim Crow laws, which are central themes of the book.

The narrative also delves into the changing social landscape in the USA, with civil rights protests gaining momentum. The book explores the significance of ethnicity and skin colour, especially within the Black community, and depicts Jemma's feelings of belonging in Chicago compared to being an outsider in Louisiana.

Jemma's employers, the Duchon family, are portrayed as reclusive and peculiar. They claim to be "coloured," but their behaviour reveals their racism towards Black people. As Jemma learns more about the family and the haunted house they inhabit, she encounters the ghosts of the enslaved people buried on the property.

Overall, the book is a Southern gothic horror story that intricately explores complex themes such as internalised racism, colourism, and the enduring impact of slavery. The narrative drew me in as I found myself rooting for Jemma to escape the oppressive environment created by the Duchon family.

A poignant aspect of the book was how the characters who showed remorse and a willingness to change suffered while the more heinous ones did not. Despite their unlikeable behaviour, I felt sympathy for Laurence and Fosette, who have been trapped in the house since childhood due to a curse. I could understand how their circumstances shaped their personalities.

Massive thank you to Netgalley for the Digital ARC version of This Cursed House in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of "This Cursed House" in exchange for an honest review.

This was a delicious book if you look at it as a historical gothic novel and not a standard "boo" horror novel. I was strongly impressed by how well traditional gothic elements like familial taboos and crimes of the past were incorporated into the 1960s New Orleans setting (see: I'm a slut for any media at all set in Louisiana). We got all the gothic horror tropes but with twists unique to the time period as "This Cursed House" tackled hard themes like slavery, colorism, family ties, and forgiveness. I would have liked our main girlie Jemma to be, yunno, a little more intuitive and a little less trusting of these fake white people (see: the Duchon family who have summoned Jemma to their dilapidated plantation house to break a terrible curse on their bloodline). But other than that, "This Cursed House" was a beautiful, spooky, and very antiracist horror read and I'll definitely be looking out for Del Sandeen's future releases.

Del Sandeen's debut novel is a gripping supernatural story about family, forgiveness, and racism in 1960s New Orleans. The Duchons are cursed. Jemma, a young black lady from Chicago looking for a new life, is driven to unravel the mystery of the family curse to which she is also linked. With each turn of the page, I became more immersed in Jemma's quest, pulling for her to overcome the curse and live the life she badly wants.

When Jemma Baker receives an invitation from the Duchon family to work for them she jumps at the chance. Wanting to leave her old life behind in Chicago she travels to the decrepit New Orleans mansion. But all is not as it seems as the Duchon family have been under a curse for almost 30 years and have reason to believe that Jemma is the key to breaking it. As Jemma delves deep into the history of the Duchons she uncovers more and more disturbing secrets that tie her to the same fate as the family.

This was a brilliant debut novel. This was a twisty, gripping, southern gothic ghost story and I was hooked from the first page. This was full of twists, turns, secrets and so many shocks I never knew what was coming next and you could feel the feeling of dread creeping up the further into the story you go. The characters were written really well and I really felt like I was transported back in time while reading this. This was fantastic and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Del Sandeens work. Highly recommend.

This Southern Gothic novel set in the 1960s follows Jemma, a Black woman from Chicago, who was offered a job at a mysterious mansion in Louisiana. Hauntings and secrets of the weird family inhabiting the mansion follow. This book frustrated and engaged me in equal measure, and my tagline is that with a better editor and a writer more experienced at their craft it could have been something very special.

It was refreshing to see a novel examining white supremacy without any named white characters. The story centres a white passing Black family of former enslavers, and their reckoning with their past. Sandeen did a good job of creating a strong sense of place. Haunted house novels rely on atmosphere, especially of the house, but Sandeen primarily excelled at putting the house in its wider Louisiana/New Orleans context. The novel is more mysterious than chilling, I would not read this looking to get spooked. Although I ultimately found the plot unconvincing for reasons to be discussed below, it really kept my attention and I wanted to come back to it once I put the book down. The world of the rich very light skinned Black people of Louisiana mesmerised me, inspiring me to find out more about the social history at the heart of this novel.

My main issue is that so much about this novel - the characters, the themes and the main message of forgiveness and reckoning - fell flat. The reader is told, not shown, far too much. Much of character dialogue is plot dump exposition. Jemma's motivations for staying in the house, her desire to be accepted by the family, is again told to us, not shown, and it is told again, and again, and again. Her character does a 180, as the reader is told her backstory in the first 20% of the book or so, we feel that we are getting to know this woman. Then a bombshell revelation (which Jemma herself knew, it is new to the reader only) is made, which sets up her driving motivation for the next 250 pages. Why not use the narrative to set up that motivation, which ultimately drives the story and explains Jemma's behaviour? Her motivation does not change, deepen or get any multifaceted exploration throughout the story, staying flat the entire time. If that's the protagonist, you can imagine how much depth or exploration the secondary characters got. It is a shame, as the contextual set up for Laurence, Magdalene and Fossette was intriguing, and I wish we learned a bit more about their inner world.

Instead of discussing issues with nuance or providing layers, the author just repeats her main points page after page. Some of it got ridiculous. For example, the reader can figure out the main plot intrigue pretty easily. We are then told what it is through a letter found by the protagonist. Jemma explains the plot point she just discovered to her main ally. Jemma goes on to repeat the main points to the family. One of the characters, who was just told the plot, completely ignores that explanation, prompting Jemma to repeat the plot point again. At this point, the reader has experienced the plot point FIVE times, each explanation taking a good page or two.

This is a bit of a pet peeve, but I really dislike it when a character from a novel focused on two different time periods ends up feeling like our contemporary, rather than someone from the more modern, but STILL HISTORICAL period. Case in point - Claire from Outlander is meant to be a woman from the 1940s, and she always felt like a third wave feminist from the 1990s. Jemma's views are used as a point of contrast for the Duchon family, who are stuck in the past, but, despite some period-appropriate language, there is little to show that she is a woman from the 1960s, rather than a generic 'modern' or 'more modern' person.

More thorough editing would have helped the author to create a more robust structure and avoid the ubiquitous repetition. Setting up Jemma's motivation earlier, showing more and telling less would have really helped to flesh her out. The repetition got particularly bad in the last quarter or so, which prompts me to think that the editorial team ran out of time.

It is a shame, because quite a few things about this novel were promising, and ultimately it fails at the craft, not talent, level. Somewhere between a 2 and a 3 star read for me, rounded up to 3 due to a well-created sense of place, an interesting setting and some intriguing discussions of the social and political context of the story.

Just loved this one

Gothic
dark
deep south intrigue
a cursed plantation house
Lucious writing and atmosphere

Hell yeah!

Rich, atmospheric, dark, gothic, just utterly brilliant! This Cursed House is a wonderfully, dark and atmospheric tale set in New Orleans in the 1960s, in a time when the Jim Crow Laws were horribly prevalent, and this is a situation that runs throughout the novel. Our female main character is Jemma, a young Black woman from Chicago, who receives a mysterious job offer from a family in New Orleans. I love her strength and the power that she demonstrates, not in a magical sense, but rather as she recognises who she is and stands up for herself, despite the limits placed on her by society.
The family, Duchons, have a lot of secrets and these are slowly revealed throughout the novel as the tension ramps up and the storyline becomes increasingly darker and scarier, with all the elements for a Souther gothic horror.