Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James is a chilling and twisty read! It contains supernatural horror, family trauma, and slow building suspense. The Esmie siblings are still haunted by their brother Ben’s disappearance years ago. The author does a great job writing their return to New York, complete with eerie visions and long buried secrets revealed. I really enjoyed the sibling dynamics in this book, and the twists totally caught me off guard!

I always dive headfirst into Simone St. James’s books without reading the blurb, checking the genre, or even considering my work schedule—because let’s be honest, I’ll end up ignoring all responsibilities anyway. Why? Because I need my full focus to let her scare the living daylights out of me!

This particular book is an extra-special treat—it takes us back to the same eerie universe where The Sun Down Motel unfolds and even brings in a side character linked to The Broken Girls, two of my absolute favorite novels from St. James.

Imagine this: a fractured family, three siblings carrying invisible scars—haunted, neglected, and deeply marked by a shared tragedy. When they were young, their six-year-old brother Ben vanished without a trace. Their lives were shattered, and they each coped in wildly different, heartbreaking ways.

Violet, the oldest, has seen ghosts for as long as she can remember—visions that cost her everything: her marriage, custody of her daughter Lisette, and even her freedom when she was locked away in a psychiatric ward. She now works one of the most harrowing jobs imaginable: cleaning out the homes of the recently deceased... and yes, sometimes bumping into their lingering spirits. She’s tried to drink her trauma away, but the ghosts don’t care.

Vail, the middle sibling, was once a competitive diver—now he’s a fringe UFO investigator, drifting through towns and flings, hiding his pain behind sarcasm and solitude. And then there’s Dodie—dramatic, impulsive, emotionally explosive. She lives in New York, models hands and hair, goes on first dates but never second ones, and keeps everyone at arm’s length.

The siblings have long been estranged, each burying their shared trauma in different ways. But everything changes when Violet receives a call from landscapers working at their old childhood home in Fell. They saw something—or rather, someone. A boy. Six years old summoning his siblings to come home.

Ben is back. Or at least... something pretending to be him is.

If they want answers about his mysterious disappearance, they must return to the haunted house of their youth—where dark memories and sinister forces await them. But Ben’s case isn’t the only strange happening in the neighborhood. Violet’s only childhood friend had been found dead on the railroad tracks—heart failure, they say, but suspiciously young for that. And other boys have gone missing over the years. The danger is far from over.

Violet is hiding a secret about a ghost that tormented her as a child. Vail believes he was targeted by aliens. And Dodie? She keeps having the same recurring nightmare, night after night. What if their nightmares are more than trauma? What if they’re connected—to each other, to Ben, and to something evil?

Can they confront this malevolent force together, or will it destroy them the way it tried to destroy Ben? Think It meets The Haunting of Hill House with Simone St. James’s signature chills and character depth.

Let me just say—I was hooked! I absolutely loved the haunted house atmosphere, the slow-burning mystery of Ben, the clever references to The Sun Down Motel, and the emotional depth of these three beautifully broken siblings. It's a story of ghosts, grief, and ultimately, healing. The jump scares are perfectly timed, the pacing razor-sharp, and the ending incredibly satisfying. Simone St. James delivers yet again with a paranormal thriller that crawls under your skin and stays there.

⭐ Final Verdict: A must-read for 2026! Fans of old-school Stephen King, ghost stories with heart, and gripping mysteries—you need this book on your radar.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me an early copy of one of my most anticipated paranormal thrillers in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Three siblings have been summoned home by the ghost of their six-year-old brother Ben, who disappeared playing hide and seek, but now wants to be found. The setting is Fell, NewYork used more than once by author St.James, where strange and horrible happenings are the norm, and where the siblings lives were derailed. There was a reason they ran away from this house all those years ago, but they’ve never escaped it.Coming together for the first time in years they’re not leaving until they finally figure out the mystery that has haunted them every day. Deliciously scary, you won’t want to put this down.

I really like all of Simone St. James' novels. This one did fall a little short for me most likely because I really loved all of the ones that came before. It was not bad, it just was not on the same level as previous novels.