she really does atmosphere and tension so well. this was fun. i like the pull between whether someone is going crazy or if something sinister is actually happening, and st james seems to be really good at this. ( )

Plot :3.5⭐; Audio Narration 4.5⭐

Set in 1959, Ghost 19 by Simone St. James revolves around off-Broadway actress Ginette Cox whose “nerves” and “breakdown” and subsequent hospitalization prompt her doctors to advise her to take time off work and away from any kind of excitement. Not wanting to venture too far from New York City, she rents a house in Meritville, a NY suburb, at 19 Howard Ave, where she spends her time spying on her neighbors from her window, making up names and stories about them as she goes along.

Her initial impression of the house is that it feels “impersonal” and “wasn’t lived in”. But as the days progress, strange noises from the basement and other eerie occurrences including a strange man looking in her windows have Ginette on edge. Her doctor dismisses her fears and prescribes her pills to help her sleep and the police don’t take her complaints seriously. Narrated in the first person by Ginette, the narrative is shared in alternating chapters between “Then” which takes us through the initial few weeks of her stay in her rented home and “Now”, 19 days into her stay when she is hiding in her kitchen, with a knife in her hands for protection speaking to the Detective who has previously visited her home in response to a frantic phone call from her. Compounding her fear is the fact that the house does not let her venture out the front door, holding her back, thus limiting her human contact to those who personally enter her home, dependent on her local grocery delivery for food and and in constant fear for her life. Is she losing her mind or is she right in assuming that something is happening inside this house, for which there is no easy explanation?

Fast-paced and entertaining, I enjoyed this novella (approximately 3 hours in audiobook format) and thought Brittany Pressley did an exceptional job in voicing Ginette and conveying her state of mind as she finds herself trapped inside the house she has rented. Normally I’m wary of books with spooky vibes (I admit to being a bit of a scaredy cat) but I really enjoyed Simone St. James’ The Book of Cold Cases and therefore decided to give this one a try and I’m glad I did! ( )

I got this througg Libby's "available bow," option, not realizing it's a short story. But it's a good one - kinda old-school, but I liked it. I'll be looking for novels by this author. ( )

I struggled to care throughout this very short (less than 100 page) book. I mean, it took me three days to read it. The ending was awfully convenient, and it was weird how the main character just jumps to the conclusion that the house is haunted. Like, there was no build up. Her thought process was "Oh, there's strange noises in the basement. Obviously, it's ghosts."

Overall, a letdown and probably my last book by this author since her latest few have been misses for me. ( )

This quick ghost story is set in 1959. Actress Ginette Cox has moved to 19 Howard Av. in small town Meritville, NY and she can’t leave the house. She is obsessed with watching her neighbors. She hears sounds coming from her house and sees various activities out in the lane that terrify her. After the police are called, they wonder if she is mad or are there really ghosts in the house? She is convinced there is a dead woman in a house across the way, and she also believes a young girl is in danger. Ginette needs to convince Det. Ian Challis that she is telling the truth.
Terrifying, yet with some light moments, i was mainly on the edge of my seat. I was nervous for Gin, hoping she would get out! Quick and enjoyable! ( )