I enjoyed the beginning of this story as it begins with a bit of a mystery but then it slows down, and drags as the reader is introduced to the family members. There is a touch of magical realism which is not my favorite. I liked the southern Georgia setting and the lovely writing. It would make a wonderful book for one looking to sink their teeth into a family story with a ghost or two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy.
Through an Open Window is like a warm hug—cozy, comforting, and perfect for fall. Pamela Terry crafts a beautifully written southern tale filled with family, mystery, and just the right touch of the supernatural (yes, there’s a ghost or two!).
The story follows a Southern family navigating its fair share of ups and downs, all while uncovering the surprise of an unknown family member. What unfolds is a heartwarming journey that feels both timeless and deeply personal. The atmosphere is rich with Southern charm, and the themes of connection, healing, and belonging are woven throughout with care.
If you’re looking for a fall read that’s equal parts cozy, mysterious, and moving, this one is a must. Pour a cup of tea, wrap yourself in a blanket, and let this book wrap around you like the perfect autumn day.

With a dose of magical realism, this novel tells the story of a family moving on from grief. Margaret was raised by her aunt Edith and Ida Mae, thinking her parents died in a motorcycle accident. After the death of her husband, Margaret’s three adult children move on in different ways. Lawrie is a veterinarian, loved by all, while his twin brother, Tom, has been cast in the role of the selfish brother. Mouse, their sister, was hit the hardest after her father’s death and is having a hard time getting past it. When Margaret begins to discover more about her past, the family dynamic begins to change. I enjoyed the story line and the characters, each with their own stories. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Enjoyable read of family relationships, including tension between siblings, lost relatives, and some help from beyond the grave of a kindly aunt. The setting was appealing and the relationships were believable. A couple subjects introduced were not completed - perhaps because they weren’t really needed in the story to begin with?
Rounding up to four..

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc

i’m not really sure how i want to rate this — i’m torn between 2.5 stars and 3, as this is my first book by pamela terry. her writing is beautiful, and i was immediately whisked away to the little town in georgia.

but the plot and behaviors our cast of characters displayed? made zero sense.

why is it that NONE of the three siblings (mouse, lawrie, and tom) know nothing about one another? i can understand that they may not be so close to one another but wow they barely knew the bare minimum an adult sibling should know.

the overarching plot of this story is that two children are separated and live different lives, and the daughter, margaret, doesn’t know she has a brother until after her beloved husband’s death — who KNEW she did but was promised by her adoptive aunts and the brother (WHO CAME TO VISIT?) to not tell her while he was alive? i personally would feel so betrayed that my husband had information on my life and never told me.

don’t get me wrong, i was sucked into the family drama but i’m just left scratching my head at pretty much everything that happened… lol

Lots of Southern family drama and the ghost of Aunt Edith too! It was a pleasant read, nothing too thought provoking or exciting. Thanks for the opportunity to read this.

Honestly, personally this book would be below 3 stars, but after reading other reviews, I wonder if it’s truly not meant for me. When I recognize I am not a target audience for a book, my typical rating is 3 stars. I struggled to find the point of this book, and I felt like the story/message probably could have been shared in a 100 page novella rather than a full novel. It wasn’t plot driven, which is fine, but I also didn’t think it was overly character or theme driven. To set expectations for other readers: this is not a mystery. The reader knows the secret from the opening of the book. It’s more of a family drama. Perhaps if you go in with the right expectations for the book, you will like it more than I did.

A touching story of family dysfunction, healing and love. The journey this famy goes on could easily be someone that you know.

This is not the type of story I typically enjoy. It was well written, and I always give an author credit for their work. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

This book started out as a mystery and then quickly turned into a family drama of a cast of characters dealing with molehills that they turned into mountains. I was engaged up until the time that the main character solved the mystery of her childhood but then realized I was skimming whole chapters by Part three. Readers who love family drama and angst may enjoy this but those looking for fast paced plots will want to look elsewhere.

Through an Open Window by Pamela Terry is on some levels a romance, not a new romance, however. It is also the story of a family’s history, at least three generations, and a story of manipulation on a large scale. The story primarily features Margaret, a sixty-four year old widow who has begun seeing her great-aunt Edith, the woman who raised her and who had been dead for years. She saw her in the middle of the night, standing at the foot of her bed. She always had a yellow envelope in her hand. Enter Emmlyn, Margaret[s daughter-in-law, in reality, if not legally, who had been using her great-aunt’s antique dollhouse in the window of her store. She faithfully decorated it for each season and it became a hallmark on Main Street, with people waiting for her to pull away the curtain to see the new design. Lawrence, Margaret’s now deceased husband, had never wanted the children to play with it and so it languished in the attic, until day he brought it down for Emmlyn. As she was decorating for Halloween, a staircase fell away and out she pulled a folded, yellow envelope. What was inside the envelope started a cascade of things happening, including the discovery that Great-Aunt Edith had been appearing to others, manipulating them as well. Quite a story.

Margaret was a good character if a little too kind and gentle. She had come to Edith and her partner, Ida Mae, as a babe-in-arms after her parents had been killed in a motorcycle wreck. She had been raised with love and next door to a raucous family, from which Lawrence come. The old house was gone now. Indeed, the children were up and out of her house. Three of them: Agatha (Mouse), and then ten years later, Tom and Lawrie. Lawrie had been the oldest and so was named after his father, a fact Tom resented his entire life. This was a complicated family with complicated relationships, like most families. The death of Lawrence had affected each of them differently and let them to where there were today. The plotting was complex and interesting. The addition of Edith’s ghost was handled masterfully. The characters were rich and not with out their problems. It was quite a book. One I enjoyed tremendously.

I was invited to read Through An Open Window by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingBallantine #PamelaTerry #ThroughAnOpenWindow

This emotionally charged family drama tells a unique story of the changes brought about after the death of a beloved husband/father. Margaret has lost her husband and is drawn to a photo of a house on the beach. Her three adult children do not understand her fascination with this house, but then again neither does Margaret. Margaret was happily raised by her Aunt Edith and her friend Annie Mae who have both passed on. All of a sudden Margaret begins to see Aunt Edith in her bedroom at night and other places and feels she is trying to tell her something. This read is full of family secrets and revelations along with several of the characters seeing appearances of Aunt Edith. Their lives are definitely forever changed and Aunt Edith is finally at peace.
The unique plot, characters, and varying changes in point of views all contributed to my immense enjoyment of this read. Many thanks to Pamela Terry, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this recently published book. It touched me deeply and will linger with me for quite a while.

I sadly struggled to get into this one. I’m not sure if it’s the way the format what set up or the writing itself, but I will be holding off on posting a review to my social pages. First time with this author. First book I did not finish in a long time.

A family story full of southern charm and magical realism.

Margaret is startled one day when she starts seeing the ghost of her long dead Aunt Edith. Struggling with grief and maintaining connections with her somewhat floundering adult children, Margaret must decide what the apparition means and how to move forward.

This one started with an intense scene laying out what promised to be an entertaining mystery but quickly veered into a messy family story with multiple POVs. Margaret’s character was very fleshed out and believable, but the others didn’t compare in my opinion! I wish we could’ve stuck with her throughout, but then it probably would’ve just been a novella. Also the mystery aspect was so obvious; the bulk of the book was meant to be the characters coming around to what the reader knew from page one- which can make for some tedious reading.

The author’s skill at writing the South shines through. Some of the sentences were spot on in describing the culture or the scenery of the region. Overall, it was too overly sweet for me, especially with the strong mystery opening. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced early copy!

3.5⭐️ rounded down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a digital ARC of this book!

This book was stacked full of southern charm and family drama. Beautifully written, Pamela Terry’s descriptive imagery made for an immersive reading experience. Centered around Margaret and her children, who are reeling from the loss of Margaret’s husband, the family patriarch, this was an emotional journey through grief and the process of coming to terms with the past in order to move forward.

I loved the character of Margaret, and felt that she was a great anchor for this story. I wished, however, that the children were more equally represented. I felt as though the reader never fully got to know Tom.

One of the aspects that made this story unique was its use of magical realism in the appearance of the ghost of Margaret’s Aunt Edith. Initially, I was drawn in by this plot device when it was limited to interactions with one character, but I felt that I grew tired of it as more and more characters were drawn into the fray.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The plot was slow to start, but was well thought out and entertaining. This was my first book by this author, but would certainly read her work again in the future.

An emotionally charged read that is sure to bring a few tears. Pamela Terry is well known for her writing skills. She skillfully pulls every string until you HAVE to share this book with someone immediately. As Margaret grieves her husband's death, she'll begin having regular conversations with her Aunt Edith's ghost. There's a secret that's been kept for many years that Aunt Edith wants Margaret and her children to know. The story unwinds along a road that will provide several surprises; at no time did I expect the ending. Another 5 star read for Terry. If you've not read her back library, treat yourself, they are all excellent.

Through an Open Window by Pamela Terry was very well written and has great characters. This book will keep you reading, and the ending is everything.
The writing was so descriptive.
I really enjoyed all the characters.
A beautiful story of family, friendship and life.

Thank You NetGalley and Ballantine Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Pamela Terry’s Through an Open Window is a tender, Southern-set story that lingers on grief, family ties, and the unexpected ways we grow closer after loss. Margaret’s visions of her long-dead Aunt Edith bring a touch of magical realism, a whimsical thread that underscores the mystery of long-buried family secrets. What Terry does best is render relationships—siblings bickering and bonding, children navigating the shadow of a parent’s absence, neighbors and friends offering humor and solace in equal measure. Characters like the indomitable Kitty Goldsmith and even the well-timed arrival of a dog add warmth, wit, and humanity. At times the pacing drifts and the ghostly element may feel a little heavy-handed, but the pathos and charm carry the novel forward. Ultimately, this is a heartfelt meditation on family, community, and the healing that comes from letting both the past and future in through the same window.

I first encountered Pamela Terry when given the opportunity to read her first novel The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, (Random House/2021) fell in love with her characters, setting and beautiful prose, so I was excited to read this new novel, Through an Open Window. To say I was NOT disappointed would be an understatement!
This is at heart a family story, the primary story following the life of Margeret Eliot and her three children in small town Georgia. Margaret is recently widowed, and though content with her life in Wesleyan, where she has lived all her life, she wonders what is next for her. Enter her long dead Aunt Edith…her ghost that is, and Margeret begins a journey that expands her life in such ways that she questions her own sanity. She’s the most down-to-earth character I’ve read in a long time, and when her three children and their friends/spouses join the party, you will want the book to go on and on, because you like them all so much.
Anyone who enjoys low country fiction, will love Pamela Terry and especially Through and Open Window. The book was released today, August 19,2025. Thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this wonderful book.

Through an Open Window opens in October, 1956 in Bentonia, Mississippi and Wesleyan, Georgia, where we meet Ida Mae Hines and Edith Lowry, and Martine and Hutch Dilbeck and a small boy and girl. It takes most of the novel before these characters are all fully revealed into what is an interesting story.
The book then fast forwards to 2019 when we meet Margaret. She's lived in Wesleyan all of her life and that's providing some comfort as she adjusts to her new life as a widow. She's at loose ends without her husband while living in a large house that's empty of people, but full of memories. She has three adult children, two of whom live in the same town, but they're all involved with their own lives and not really paying attention to their mother. Enter the ghost of Aunt Edith, the woman who raised Margaret.
Through an Open Window is a sweet story, told from multiple points of view among Margaret and her three children. It's also a dual timeline - switching back and forth between 1956 and 2019 as the story of Margaret and her family slowly unfolds.
Ms. Terry does a beautiful job of capturing the details around life in a small southern town and makes me want to visit Wesleyan and especially Emlynn's shop!
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read Through an Open Window. I received a complimentary copy of the book and opinions expressed are completely my own.