Under the Whispering Door

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLER
One of Buzzfeed's "Best Books of 2022"!
An Indie Next Pick!
A Locus Awards Top Ten Finalist for Fantasy Novel

A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

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Published Sep 21, 2021

390 pages

Average rating: 7.66

891 RATINGS

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Readers say *Under the Whispering Door* by TJ Klune is a deeply moving, heartfelt story exploring death, growth, and self-worth, blending warmth and h...

Mmarostegui

May 20, 2025

10/10 stars

Ahhhh...One of my favorite books that I've read recently....this one will have you thinking about it for a long time... Amazon review says: "Welcome to Charon's Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days. Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home."

ljzsreadsandreviews

Oct 22, 2024

8/10 stars

I had started this one on my Kindle back in May but life had been chaotic and it wasn’t drawing my attention. I am very much a mood reader and at the time it was not what I needed. I decided to pick this one back up, this time in audio format. I’m not sure if it was the format of the read or the timing for it but I was way more intriguied this time around. I wasn’t as annoyed by Wallace and I understood the premise so much more than before. I enjoyed the idea that there is this place in between life and death where we learn to accept our new existence. It was a very cool twist and provided several amazing life messages. I got an outcome I didn’t expect as well which made things so much more exciting. I was initially disappointed I wasn’t feeling more attached to this book when I first started so to come back and truly enjoy it was amazing. It really makes you wonder how much a good mindset can do to your enjoyment of a book....

ajhughes19

Mar 12, 2023

6/10 stars

While Klune's tale of life and death was unique in various ways it was moderately lack luster in many others. The characters for the most part were pretty likeable and entertaining though somewhat cliche. The book had a plethora of different diversity in race, sex, age and sexual orientations but not in a sense that it seemed to matter. Everyone treated everyone as perfectly normal which is the ideal world to live in. The unique concepts of reapers and shepherding the dead spirits to the beyond could have been expounded on a bit more. The idea was a good one and kept things interesting though left the reader wanting more of an explanation. The overall message about living life to the fullest and opening yourself up to the world via relationships was well received and left the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside by the end. This adventure is worth the read just to appease the curiosities of how everyone faces the reality of death, grief and loss.

Tiffany X

Dec 05, 2025

6/10 stars

This was a fun read and hooked me from the start. However, the entire time I couldn't help thinking this book would make a horrible movie. I feel the author followed a "movie formula" in hopes that it would make it to the silver screen: ridiculous slapstick? Check. Asian American character(s)? Check. African American character(s)? Check. LGBTQ+ character(s)? Check. Cute animal(s)? Check. It felt disingenuous because these characters had no depth in their cultural background.

The love story felt forced and from out of nowhere. At first the two were strangers and then immediately they were falling in love. No transition. Sometimes I had to reread sections to see if I was missing anything. Nope, I wasn't.

Overall it was an enjoyable read but I won't be picking up any of his other novels.

siemelle900

Nov 28, 2025

10/10 stars

I think it’s about a 4.75 but I’d rather round up instead of down on this one.

Wallace Price was not a nice person when he was living. In death - with the help of Hugo, Mei, Nelson, and Apollo- he learns to be a better person.

Characters and dialogue were my favorite. Well written. I’m actually disappointed that it didn’t totally break me though!!

I really enjoyed this book. Really!