I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed reading The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John McDermott. The premise of this novel immediately caught my attention when I read the synopsis of it as it sounded very unique. The cover of this book is also stunning as well. In The Last Spirits of Manhattan, the author takes the reader on an adventure filled with macabre surprises and conversations with ghosts. It takes place on a night in 1956 in which the famous director Alfred Hitchcock throws a party for guests who are in for a big surprise after several ghosts make appearances during the party. The main character, Carolyn Banks, has left Wisconsin and returned to New York after being proposed to and finds herself as a guest at the party that is taking place in an eerie house previously owned by her great aunts. I really loved Carolyn’s chapters from her point of view and I liked how her relationship with another character, Pete, progressed throughout the novel. A lot of readers have pointed out that most of the story seems to be small talk that takes place between the rich guests, but I enjoyed this aspect of the novel and found it endearing. I especially liked the parts of the novel that featured the ghosts and their experiences being “stuck” in New York City and being unable to move on. I am really looking forward to reading more from this author in the future as he is a great writer in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the pre-release copy of The Last Spirits of Manhattan. Below is my honest review.

I was super excited about this one when I saw it on Netgalley. Alfred Hitchcock? Haunted House? Ghosts and supernatural stuff? Heck yeah! Alas, the excitement ended at the blurb.

The story took a long time to get going, and then it didn't really feel cohesive to me in the right ways. I was just... bored? Uninterested?

Overall, I feel like it was a decent book that just wasn't for me. I did really enjoy Snug's character, I liked Pete and Carolyn just fine, and I enjoyed the little side story glimpses of Igor and Renfro.

If you like historical fiction with just a touch of otherworldly, and you don't mind a plot that's mostly "watch these people prepare for a party and then throw the party" with not a lot of actual action, then you'll probably enjoy this one.

Two and a half stars, rounded to three.

I really enjoyed this as a enemy to lover romance novel, it had that sports element in a way that was what I was hoping for. I was invested in what was happening with the characters and their storyline. It was everything that I was wanting and enjoyed that this was a strong start to the Oakwood Ranch series, it had everything that I wanted in this type of book. I enjoyed how good Bella North's writing was and was able to create characters that I cared about and wanted to read more.

I enjoyed the author's attention to detail and history, and Carolyn is an extremely relatable character! However, I felt the plot meandered a bit, as it was hard for me to keep an overall focus on the book.

Excitement, immersion, waning interest, finally resulting in abandonment. Billed as a mystery set in Manhattan (love it), initially told by a young woman chafing at societal and familial expectations (tell me more!), and including ghosts (interesting), Alfred Hitchcock (less interesting) and Charles Addams (who?), I was intrigued. Unfortunately, plotting never gained traction and the multi-viewpoint narrative hindered character depth. I could see giving it another try, hopefully in a single reading or two, which will help continuity.

The story begins with Carolyn Banks fretting during a potential engagement dinner with her boyfriend Malcolm. She thinks she hears her dead mother's voice:

"Then, in the quiet dark, she heard a voice by her ear, as clear as a radio. Her mother's voice, hushed but strong, urging, 'Go.'"

We cut to Pete Donoff, a young adman on Madison Avenue who is tasked by his boss to find a haunted house for a cocktail party hosted by Alfred Hitchcock, the great movie and tv man. He's a go-getter and he's in the very location Carolyn is heading to, so we get the idea their paths are going to connect.

The introduction of Pete is followed by Isabella, nicknamed Snug (a fact that will prove helpful, as there are a multitude of Isabellas in the family), a young woman who died some time ago. Snug is full of unfulfilled potential and has quite literally been ghosting around her family's house, exploring and reliving memories. 

It's a truly lovely beginning for those chapters, steadily building the feel of each of the three characters and their setting. The writing is lovely, a nice mix of description and dialogue that keeps it flowing. Before long, Pete and Carolyn meet--the house he's found to rent is owned by Carolyn's aunt, last occupied by her grandaunts. 

Before long, we are at the night of the party. Carolyn meets Snug in a surprisingly mundane encounter:

"Snug extended her hand, a graceful move, a dancer's arm, her shadowy form undulating. She was never completely still. There was always an ebb and flow to her silhouette, like water in a pool brushed by a soft breeze. 'A pleasure to meet you, ' she said. 'I am Isabella. Well, Snug. And you are?'"

Pete is rattled, but Carolyn and Snug aren't. But before too long, we cut to the grand arrival of the Hollywood crew, and that's when things start to go sideways. A reporter steps into the narrative to give us an overview of the guests, but once the guests are inside, the story slips into a third-person omniscient to witness the arch dialogue between the Barbara and Charles Addams, and Alma and Alfred Hitchcock. The story is then interrupted by an imagined screenplay by Igor. Who is Igor? One of the acting extras, who would really prefer to direct. Why the screenplay format? I'm sure I don't know why McDermott chose this awkward device. It will reappear a number of times.

We continue with Carolyn and Pete's viewpoints, Carolyn musing on what she sees and the ghosts, while Pete becomes increasingly worried about the potential for things to go wrong. Malcom returns to the picture, determined to seek out Carolyn. Thoughts are had by the extras, as well as Hitchcock, Addams, Henry Fonda. The vibe is very much a busy, glittery party, with guests roaming and being entertained by the 'fake' haunted house, and the characters in the know busy mitigating for the real ghosts. But yet, nothing really happens. At 60%, there's a search for Hitchcock, who has wandered off to eat cake. 

"No one at the party knew anything about the people who had lived here. Not even Carolyn. Not really. She was embarrassed and annoyed, at all of them, cavorting in a house that must have once held so much more than this."

I enjoyed what I read, but there was no drive to finish as the conflicts are all character driven. The inclusion of multiple viewpoints added confusion instead of depth, but perhaps it was worse for me because I don't know anything about Hitchcock, Addams, or Fonda and felt like the celebrity appearances were more distraction than feature. Discussions about their relationships, other acquaintances or projects felt extraneous and certainly not germane to the history of the house and the ghosts. I felt like Carolyn and Pete's story got lost during the party, and the epilogue is equal parts resolution to Carolyn and Pete's story and those of Hitchcock and Addams, which is rather odd, I think, given that they weren't part of the beginning of the story. I think the ideal audience would enjoy a narrative amalgamation along with wink-wink of vintage Hollywood references. 




Many thanks to Atria Books at Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. Clearly, all opinions are my own.

A party hosted by Hitchcock itself, in a haunted mansion in NYC in the 50's, filled with family secrets that was based on an actual event and life. What's not alluring about that? Well, there were parts that I enjoyed and parts that I didn't. For instance, there were too many characters (and too many ''Isabellas'') that I had a hard time following them all. I also felt that it was too long and some parts didn't add up anything interesting at all. On the other hand, some characters were very intriguing and interesting (such as Snug). I also liked the characterization of the many celebrities that attended the party. And, by reading, one can feel the grief, loneliness, sadness of some characters, but also the sense of closeness in a family. You can tell the connection of the author with the mansion and his own family.
Congratulations to the author and Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

As a Hitchcock fan I was intrigued by the books premise. I found this to be entertaining and endearing. What a family reunion!!

If only cool air could clear the mind of alcohol and phantoms… Tonight, the guests will be haunted in the dark corners—by very different kinds of spirits.

Alfred Hitchcock announces he'd like to throw a party, but insists it be held in a haunted house. He has no idea just how real the terror will be—far beyond anything portrayed in his films.

With a star-studded guest list and interwoven stories, we come to discover who is haunted, by whom, and why. Are these spirits seeking redemption—or revenge?

Unfolding mostly over the course of a single evening, the narrative offers the reader a chance to see the party from many perspectives—almost as if we, too, are guests.

Based on a true party, with generous poetic license, I found this story thoroughly enjoyable. As a fan of both Hitchcock and Charles Addams, I especially loved seeing them haunt these pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A fun blend of mid-century glamour, family drama, and the supernatural! The Last Spirits of Manhattan drops readers into a 1956 Manhattan mansion where none other than Alfred Hitchcock is throwing a party... and as you would expect, its in a haunted house.

The premise? A-mazing.
Carolyn Banks, a a young midwesterner has fled to New York to find a life that doesn't consist solely of marriage and children. She stays with her Aunt Bell and coincidentally takes her place at a grand party. This is the grandest party of all as it happens to be held in her Grand-aunt's mansion. The party is more of a publicity stunt than anything as Alfred Hitchcock's crew has rented it out for an upcoming film - his crew specifically seeking haunted homes. As Carolyn has some supernatural awareness she quickly finds the ghosts in the room and the story takes off!

The writing is so clever and charming, especially in its imaginative historical touches. There was a lot to keep track of - too many spirits in one séance. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a supernatural twist will absolutely die for it!

The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermott is a good book with a creative premise and a lot of heart. The writing is engaging and the story has some really intriguing moments. That said, it wasn’t fully to my liking. I found the plot a bit too busy at times, with a lot going on all at once, and it jumped around more than I would have preferred. It made it harder for me to stay connected to the story and characters. Still, I can see how others might really enjoy its unique style and pacing—it just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

DNF at 50% because the entire book was rich people small talk dialogue. I didn't get a sense that any of the characters had strong motivations or desires for anything. It was just pages upon pages of small talk. I think maybe with a few editing passes the actual story will start to become clearer but in the book's current state I would consider it unreadable.