Thank you to Atria Books for my copy of CORAM HOUSE.

This one is a SLOG, slow burn with some disturbing topics that just didn't come to me at the right time. I just don't have the brain space for the content of this book right now.

Coram House, loosely inspired by real events, is a slow-burn mystery that is truly heart-breaking. Full disclosure, I have a hard time reading about any type of child abuse, even hint of it, breaks my heart.

Alex is a writer who is grieving the loss of her husband. When she gets the chance to travel to Burlington, Vermont as a ghost-writer/researcher for potentially criminal events at Coram House, an orphanage run by the church, she takes it. Not long into her stay, she witnesses (kind of) the murder of an elderly woman while she’s on a run. The police call it an accident but Alex is sure it was something more sinister. When she discovers the true identity of the woman, a whole new possibility is opened and as more murders occur, Alex wonders how many secrets this small town is keeping.

I really loved the atmosphere and the dual timelines in this story. Alex is a tough cookie and despite everything, she’s determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Intriguing with a great cast of characters!

My thanks to Atria Books for this gifted copy!

Struggling true crime writer Alex has been struggling after the death of her husband. Her second book was a massive failure and she’s not sure if she can write a hit again. She is offered a ghostwriter job in Burlington Vermont and so she heads there to spend 6 months writing the story of Coram House for Lawyer Stedsan as his legacy.
Coram house is based on a real life orphanage where rampant abuse happened. Some of this is highlighted in the story. It is definitely a slow build as Alex works to figure out who is telling the truth in this twisted mystery.
Overall I enjoyed the book. The pacing was slow for a while but picked up by the end.
3.5/5 stars for me.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

Thank you @atriabooks & @netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am always intrigued by an old mystery, and this compelling story, inspired by real life events, captured my attention from the beginning! The story follows a likable main character, ghostwriter Alex Kelley, who travels to a snowy Vermont town to investigate a series of missing children amid stories of abuse at an old orphanage. Alex finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue as she navigates a landscape filled with several possible suspects. Despite the frustrating lack of proof, Alex's relentless
determination to uncover the truth drives her to dig deeper, leading to a surprising conclusion. This blend of compelling characters and unexpected twists makes for a thrilling read that lingers long after the final page.

Earlier in the year I read the book, Ghosts of the Orphanage, about St. Joseph’s. I was horrified to hear the graphic details of abuse that took place there. When I requested to read an ARC of Coram House I actually had no idea what the storyline was about. I didn’t know there would be a connection to St. Joseph’s. I think having read about it before helped me follow this story even better.

I managed to read this book in a day. I really connected with Alex though I’m not even sure why. She just seemed real to me.

This is a debut book from author, Bailey Seybolt, and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bailey Seybolt, and Atria Books for the opportunity to read Coram House. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

Alex Kelley is recruited to ghostwrite a book about the Coram House, an orphanage with a dark past. As she digs she finds long history of abuse, and evidence a child went missing,..or was killed...or maybe never even existed. And when Alex finds a dead body on the lake, she is convinced it has something to do with her digging into the house's past.

This book was enjoyable, but a very slow start. Some of the twists were too predictable and took too long to reach in the book.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an eerie, chilling mystery that caught my attention from the start. The history of the abandoned orphanage in Burlington, Vermont was creepy and interesting. While the main character, Alex, felt unreliable at times, she was likable and her backstory was intriguing. As she tried to uncover the truth of what happened in the past, she begins to unsettle many townspeople who wanted to keep their secrets safe. Filled with twists and turns, this held my attention and kept me guessing until the end! I can’t wait to see what Seybolt comes out with next!

3.5 stars rounded up.

The beginning of this book was a bit slow, but once it found its footing, I appreciated the creative use of mixed media elements woven throughout the story. They added an extra layer of immersion that really brought the investigation to life. This was a great debut overall — dark, atmospheric, and layered with chilling mystery. While it took a little while to pick up speed, I found the payoff rewarding and the exploration of the orphanage’s dark history compelling.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

My rating 3.5 stars

Coram House is a twisty read with an ending you'll never see coming! I was not expecting that turn of events. Coram House begins in the past with a story from children at the orphanage who see a child drown, or maybe they saw nothing and the child just ran away. The story then cuts to interviews in the 80s from these children not adults looking to settle with the Catholic Church after abuses that occurred at the orphanage. The rest of the story takes place in the present with a true crime ghost writer set out to bring light to the horrific case.

I loved this setting. The wintery isolated backdrop of Lake Champlain and small town Vermont made the vibes all the more spooky. It was easy enough to keep up with the cast of characters and where they fell in this scandal as well. I also really enjoyed the true crime aspect of this thriller, and how the main character is a ghostwriter for these types of novels. This book is inspired by real-life stories of St. Joseph's Orphanage. We see the violence that happens around these crimes and the dangers of being a true crime writer.

A couple of issues I ran into were the pacing and some character purposes. First, this book felt very slow and repetitive. We hear the same things over and over again, not furthering the plot much. Second, the characters I had issues with were her friend and the drunk "tech bro" our main character runs into while at the police station. The friend is not in Vermont while the main character is and felt like an afterthought. I saw no purpose other than to show the main character had some sort of family looking out for her. The romance relationship that happens with the tech bro seemed out of left field. His appearance made more sense by the end, but whenever the main character spent time with him, it felt so far removed from the story to then throw us back in.

I did enjoy this story and think those who enjoy a slow burn mystery and true crime would enjoy picking Coram House up! Thank you to Atria Books for an advanced and finished copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Coram House by Bailey Seybolt, published by Atria Books

This was a really great novel, and a debut novel at that! Fantastic! The author created some fabulous characters, a great setting and wonderful plot. I appreciated all the description of people and places, I felt I was there as I read the book. I was hooked from the start, this is a book you won't want to put down. The story is told by the main character, Alex, who has been hired to write about the orphanage, and also by interviews that were conducted during the initial investigation.

I'll be waiting for this author's next book, very talented writer!

What a great debut novel! I’ll admit it was a little bit slow moving in the beginning, but once I was in the meat of the story, it took off and I couldn’t put it down! It was very eerie and atmospheric. The fact that it’s based on a true story made the experience even better overall, however knowing this also made some pieces hard to swallow. It was fun to follow Alex and all of her theories. I found that I connected with her mostly because I was coming up with new theories at the same time, so that was fun! Even though I figured out a majority of the end very early on, Seybolt threw in some curveballs and left me questioning some things (in a good way) well after I finished.
Overall, I definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this story and thought the premise was creative and engaging. The characters were memorable, and the writing kept me interested throughout. There were a few slower moments where the pacing dipped a little, but overall it didn’t take away from my enjoyment.

This was a strong and entertaining read, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of this genre.

This is an eye-opening story, based on a true event at an orphanage in 1968. Tommy goes missing. Fifty years later, with his disappearance still unsolved, Alex, a true crime writer, is asked to write a book about the orphanage and uncover abuse that may have happened there. The writer/investigator heads to Vermont to research the book. What really happened to Tommy?

Alex Kelley is a true crime writer whose husband has recently died. After a successful first book, and a flop of a second where she got things really wrong and ruined a family's lives, now she's generally feeling lost. She accepts an offer to ghostwrite a book for a lawyer in Vermont in winter, about an orphanage currently being rebuilt into a hotel, and some shady things that happened there decades ago. A lawyer named Stedsan who will be the named author, has already made up his mind about his spin on the story, his “legacy,” and isn't concerned with uncovering any more details, even if it means leaving some mysteries unsolved. But Alex can't live with that. She becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of a young boy who drowned in the lake nearby, and why he and his death seem to have been erased. While only a few witnesses are alive and willing to talk, things become even more complicated when Alex stumbles upon a murder scene, which the police are treating as an accident. But she knows she heard another person out there that morning…Now Alex is trying to find the truth behind two potential murders.

You can feel the desperation and hunger from Alex for justice and the truth. Coram House is fiction that reads like an unfolding true crime documentary revisited years after the crime to try to discover the truth with new evidence. It's a perfect read for fans of unsolved mysteries and true crime that will keep you theorizing and eager to know who did it until the very end.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are solely mine and do not reflect the author, publisher, or affiliates.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Bailey Seybolt, and Atria Books for the eARC! This was such an awesome read! A slow-burn page-turner that had me glued to the pages and reading way into the night. The setting was perfectly creepy, the characters were shady and unsettling, and the story was packed with twists and turns. I couldn’t get enough!

Alex is an investigative journalist who arrives at Coram House to explore the secrets of its past.

This book was a solid debut with some strong writing. While it felt like it dragged on a bit, I enjoyed the mystery at the heart of the story. Some of the characters seemed unnecessary except to spark a realization in the MC. I enjoyed the mixed media chapters and would read a follow up from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free ARC for review via NetGalley.

I enjoyed much of how this book was written, but I also was not a huge fan of the story unfortunately. While I understand this was based on the story of orphans and how those in charge grossly misused their authority and the level of misconduct was horrifying, the underlying story did frustrate me most of the time.
<i>Coram House</i> was written in multiple timelines and mixed media, supplying the reader with a full overlook of the time when Coram House was open, along with transcripts from the court case while Alex, in present day tries to gather up all of the info for her book. Alex sets herself up in Vermont to research her true crime novel as a ghost writer for the attorney on the case. As she is uncovering the ghosts from the 60s, people are starting to mysteriously die all around her. These people coincidentally all had to do with Coram House and the conflicting stories surrounding the disappearance (or possibly death) of a young boy, Tommy, who was an orphan for short time. It all felt too messy: Alex interfering with police investigation enough to get some people wrongfully accused and always somehow being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Although the main character frustrated me, I did thoroughly enjoy some of the writing. There were multiple moments when I repeated a description of a scene over in my head when it stopped me in my tracks and I thought "what an interesting way to describe that".

Solid thriller! I really loved the snippets of the interviews sprinkled through the book! The plot kept me intrigued and guessing all the way to the end. I especially like that it was loosely based on true events. I encourage other mystery/thriller lovers to check it out! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

If you're a fan of authors like Tana French and Gillian Flynn, you need to check out Coram House. Based on a real case, Coram House is about a true crime writer hired to collaborate with a lawyer a book about a lawsuit into decades of horrifying child abuse at a Vermont orphanage. (Reader's Advisory for those who want to avoid reading about child abuse, particularly in a religious setting.)

The book had a vividly described small town vibe and a well contructed mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Come over to my post, linked above, and discuss your theories and suspects. I really enjoyed this one and though the subject was a tough one, I liked that it drew attention to a real case.

Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for my advanced copy.

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt peaked my interest with its synopsis and beautiful cover. The atmospheric setting coupled with a decades old mystery was very promising and definitely started off strong. I found myself wanting to read past my bedtime for the first 50-60% but after that I found myself looking for a resolution.

Our main character Alex, a true crime writer, was met with so many big moments and handled them with grace and a few head scratching decisions. I do think she could have been fleshed out more and maybe had more development at the sacrifice of one other character in the book. The ending felt a little anticlimactic but I also think it fit well with the slow burn of the story.

Overall, this was a good debut and I would recommend it to someone looking for a mystery novel with creepy undertones.

TW: child abuse (sexual and physical), abuse involving the clergy, murder