The Gallagher Place: A Novel

A chilling debut set in New York’s Dutchess County, this novel explores family secrets, fractured relationships, and an unsolved missing girl case. When Marlowe returns to her family’s Hudson Valley estate for the holidays, the discovery of a murder forces her to confront the decades-old disappearance of her teenage best friend. Moving between past and present, the story examines the unreliability of memory and the lasting impact of loyalty, class, and identity. Julie Doar builds an atmospheric mystery that keeps readers guessing until the final pages. A good read and well worth the time, with steady pacing throughout the novel. The short chapters kept me engaged, as I prefer when chapters don’t try to force too much information at once. The twists arrive later in the book. While they aren’t earth-shattering, they do manage to catch you by surprise. You can’t help but feel compassion and pity for Marlowe once it becomes clear that she is a functional alcoholic, though her constant drinking doesn’t ultimately add much to the story. The characters evolve steadily throughout the book, reminding the reader that first impressions are often incomplete or even misleading. As layers are peeled back, motivations become clearer and assumptions are challenged, reinforcing the idea that appearances rarely tell the whole story. The novel does a good job of showing how easily people can be misunderstood when viewed only through a single moment or perspective. As the truth surrounding past events gradually emerges, the revelations about who was—and was not—involved are genuinely surprising. These discoveries add emotional weight to the story and encourage the reader to reflect on how memory, bias, and long-held beliefs can shape our understanding of the past in unexpected ways. An excellent debut for Julie Doar