The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery: A Novel

Gwendolyn Montgomery is a glamorous, high-powered publicist whose carefully curated life appears flawless—until a series of grisly, unexplainable incidents begin unraveling her world. As whispers of her buried secrets resurface, she suspects someone—or something—is targeting her. The return of Fonsi Harewood, a psychic who speaks to the dead, only deepens the mystery. With a warning that the boundary between the living and the spirit world is weakening, Fonsi forces Gwendolyn to confront a past she’s tried to outrun. To save the life she’s built, she must face the darkness closing in—before it destroys everything. The story alternates between Gwendolyn’s and Fonsi’s points of view, giving equal weight to both characters and allowing readers to fully understand their motivations and struggles. The dual perspective works well and adds depth to the narrative. The author does an excellent job incorporating diverse representation, particularly through Fonsi’s identity and background, which adds richness and authenticity to the story. That said, the book contains explicit sexual content very early on. If you’re not comfortable with graphic scenes, this may not be the right read for you. The intimacy feels more shocking than necessary and doesn’t significantly move the plot forward. There are also Spanish words and phrases used throughout without translation, which may leave some readers feeling disconnected at times. Additionally, the explanation of Fonsi’s psychic gift comes later in the book; introducing it earlier might have made his character arc clearer and easier to follow. The novel starts off a bit slow, but it gains momentum around the halfway point. By the end, the characters have grown in meaningful ways, revealing layers that make you genuinely root for them and their futures.

I finished The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery. I really enjoyed this story and I think it’s different than the few horror books I’ve read. I enjoyed reading about the Afro-Latine spiritualist practice, how the PRISMA’s are incorporated, and this story about complicated familial connections. I enjoyed both Fonsi and Gwendolyn/Giselda. My only issue with the story is <spoiler>I wish we would’ve gotten a little more context about why Gwendolyn/Giselda left earlier in the story so we could’ve formed a different opinion of her in the beginning. The connection made sense in the end but I wish we would’ve gotten the explanation sooner so we could’ve better understand why she started away and what it meant for her to agree to come back to help. </spoiler>Overall this was a really good story! I rated it 3.75 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC.