Set in the mysterious and sometimes magical region that is New York's Hudson River Valley, Carol Goodman finds herself returning once again to familiar territory that has worked so nicely during her literary career. THE WIDOW'S HOUSE is a pure gothic haunted house/ghost story taking place in present day but with serious nods to many classic tales of haunting written over the past century.

Jess and Clare Martin seek a new locale for their writing careers. Jess has not had a hit in over 10 years, when his debut novel made it to the bestseller list. He has long since spent the publisher's advance fee for his second effort, and the opportunity for relocation to get his creative juices flowing again is too much to pass up. Of course, his wife Clare --- also the story’s narrator --- had dabbled in writing as well, and the move from Brooklyn to the upstate college town where she and Jess first met is just the ticket to inspire her own writing.

"There is no author out there who captures the spellbinding mystery of the Hudson Valley like Carol Goodman. All of her novels are stellar, but those placed in this unique setting seem to shine brightest."

When the realtor, the striking Katrine Vanderberg, shows Jess and Clare around the Catskills, they end up right in the backyard of their SUNY alma mater. They are immediately taken by the haunting Riven House but realize they are in no financial position to afford it. Thankfully, Katrine informs them that they have the chance to be caretakers of Riven House as the current owner, former English Professor Alden Bayard “Monty” Montague, still resides there and needs the help. As it turns out, Jess and Clare are both former students of his. They also recall that Monty was one with the ladies and often bedded his female students.

Riven House has a peculiar, pentagon shape. That is far from the strangest thing about this place as it also comes with the expected tales of ghosts haunting the premises. In this case, the ghosts in question may be Mary Foley and her infant child, both of whom tragically lost their lives there. As Clare begins to research the house's history, she finds a series of tragedies that have occurred there. Were they random acts, or the actions of souls tormented by the dead? Clare will do anything to uncover the answer.

Clare befriends a local woman named Sunny, who tells her that Riven House is an unhappy place with a spirit that will tear you apart. Their time at Riven House does inspire creativity, but far more in Clare than in her husband. She starts to obsess over the history of her new domicile and spends every waking moment putting together a written history of the house and all its former occupants.

The tragedies and misfortunes begin early into their stay at Riven House, and things start spinning out of control. To make matters even more interesting, Clare uncovers a whopper of a secret that could find that she and Monty are related in a special way. This wears on Jess, who fears for his wife's sanity. He already witnessed Clare fall apart after a miscarriage and sees her behavior going down that mentally unhinged road once again.

The most unique thing about THE WIDOW'S HOUSE is that Clare turns out to be a somewhat unreliable narrator. This makes it fun for the reader as the challenge in deciphering what is reality from what may be just fantasy or a deluded mind will have you re-evaluating all you have read. Goodman is a master storyteller, and Riven House is practically another character in the story --- one that threatens to take over the entire tale. Jess gets uncomfortably close to the truth when he points out his wife's hallucinations as being extremely troubling and calls them what author John Gardner referred to as “fictive dreams.”

As Clare's life crosses back and forth between reality and supernatural hallucinations, things start to get crazy. I really appreciate the afterword that Goodman includes called “A Field Guide to Haunted Houses.” She mentions haunted house/ghost stories that inspired her, such as the classic novels THE UNINVITED, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and REBECCA. Most of her work is grounded in classic literary references and historical events, and both are used as the foundation for this spooky novel.

There is no author out there who captures the spellbinding mystery of the Hudson Valley like Carol Goodman. All of her novels are stellar, but those placed in this unique setting seem to shine brightest. THE WIDOW'S HOUSE is a terrific place for those new to her work to begin. Then you can enjoy the pleasure of jumping back to THE LAKE OF DEAD LANGUAGES and read your way through her bibliography.