Hear the Dead by Ann Dávila Cardinal

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I honestly don’t even know where to begin with Hear the Dead because this book didn’t just tell a story—it completely pulled me into a world that felt eerie, emotional, and deeply layered with culture, grief, and the supernatural. As an ARC read, this one absolutely stood out for me. It’s haunting in more ways than one, and it stayed with me long after I finished the last page.

This is not just a ghost story.

It’s a story about loss, identity, generational trauma, and the voices that refuse to stay silent.

⚠️ FULL SPOILERS BELOW ⚠️

From the very beginning, there’s this heavy atmosphere that settles over the story. You can feel it in the writing—the sense that something isn’t right, that something is watching, waiting, and wanting to be heard.

The main character’s connection to the dead is what immediately sets this book apart. This isn’t just someone imagining things or being paranoid—this is a real, undeniable ability to hear and sense the dead. And the way Ann Dávila Cardinal writes this is so vivid that you feel it alongside the character.

The whispers.
The presence.
The constant feeling that you’re not alone.

It’s unsettling in a way that creeps up on you slowly rather than jumping out at you.

As the story unfolds, we start to realise that these voices aren’t random.


They’re trying to say something.

And that’s where the emotional weight of the book really kicks in.

Because the dead in this story aren’t just there to scare—they’re there because they were wronged. Forgotten. Silenced. And now they’re demanding to be heard.

The deeper the main character gets into these experiences, the more dangerous things become.
At first, it feels manageable—confusing, yes, but somewhat controlled.

But then it escalates.
The voices get louder.
The presence gets stronger.
The line between the living and the dead starts to blur.

And that’s where the tension really builds.

What I loved most is how the story ties the supernatural into real, emotional themes.

This isn’t just about ghosts—it’s about history, culture, and pain that hasn’t been resolved.

There are layers of generational trauma woven into the story, and the way the past impacts the present is done so powerfully. The dead aren’t just haunting—they’re telling a story that was never properly acknowledged.

💭 As a reader, this hit me emotionally in ways I didn’t expect.

It’s one thing to read about ghosts—but it’s another thing entirely when those ghosts represent real pain, real loss, and real injustice.

The idea that someone can’t move on because their story was never told… that stayed with me.

The reveals in this book are slow but incredibly impactful.

It’s not about one big twist—it’s about layers being peeled back.

You start to understand:

Who the spirits are

Why they’re still here

What they want

And what really happened to them

And every time a new piece of the puzzle is revealed, it adds more emotional weight to the story.

There are moments where things become genuinely terrifying.

Not just because of the supernatural elements—but because of how intense and overwhelming it becomes for the main character.

The feeling of being surrounded.
Of not being able to escape.
Of being pulled deeper into something you don’t fully understand.

It creates this constant tension that never really lets up.

But alongside the fear, there’s also strength.

Watching the main character slowly come to terms with their ability, understand it, and eventually use it—it’s powerful. It’s not easy. It’s messy, emotional, and at times overwhelming.

But it feels real.

The ending…

It’s emotional, haunting, and honestly a bit bittersweet.

There’s a sense of resolution—but not in a neat, perfect way. It acknowledges that some things can’t be fully undone. Some pain can’t be erased.

But being heard?

That matters.

And that’s what this story is really about.

💭 Final thoughts:

This book is:

Haunting
Emotional
Culturally rich
Unsettling
Powerful

It’s not just a horror story—it’s a story with meaning, depth, and heart.

As an ARC read, Hear the Dead by Ann Dávila Cardinal absolutely exceeded my expectations. It’s the kind of book that makes you think, feel, and reflect long after you’ve finished it.

A truly unforgettable ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ read—and one that deserves to be heard, just like the voices within it.

I finished Hear the Dead completely stunned. Not just because of the shocking moments, but because this book affected me in such a deeply human and unsettling way. The ending didn’t feel like the conclusion of a story, it felt like a sentence. The kind of book that leaves you staring at the ceiling afterward, trying to process everything you just experienced.

What impressed me the most was the way Ann Dávila Cardinal handles the shifts between past and present without making them feel like a cheap suspense device. In many contemporary thrillers, alternating timelines can feel mechanical, almost lazy, as if information is being artificially withheld just to keep the reader hooked. Here, the past feels like an open wound constantly bleeding into the present.

The entire novel carries an uncomfortable sense of realism. It doesn’t feel like distant or overly stylized horror; it feels like something that could exist hidden inside a small town, buried beneath silence, negligence, and the people society chooses not to see. The supernatural elements work more as an extension of human trauma than as spectacle.

Lens was undoubtedly the emotional core of the story for me. Watching an older woman constantly dismissed, labeled, and treated cruelly was genuinely infuriating, especially because the narrative makes it clear how deeply human, intense, contradictory, and vulnerable she truly is. She is never reduced to the stereotype of the “eccentric old woman.” She remains a complete person, full of presence and individuality.

Maybe that’s why this book affected me so strongly. Hear the Dead explores memory, pain, neglect, and everything people would rather ignore, while never sacrificing atmosphere, tension, or emotional depth.

It was harsh, uncomfortable, emotionally devastating, and I loved every moment of it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ann Dávila Cardinal, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved everything about this book! I lived those punk days; the music, the fashion, the rush! The women of Punk are often forgotten. Hear the Dead tells the story of former punk photographer, Lens Altieri, and her search for the truth about what happened to her best friend. This book resonates! I’d love to see it developed for Netflix. (I’m talking to you Joan Jett and Lita Ford…Siouxie?)

This book grittily captured the raw energy of the NYC punk scene and the heavy weight of aging. I really felt for sixty-six-year-old Elena as she grappled with her losing hearing while simultaneously being haunted by the literal screams of her past. Touching her dead friend's belongings to solve a decades old crime made for an incredibly eerie, atmospheric thriller.

I do love an older protagonist in this amateur sleuthy, supernatural mystery.
The story opens with a visit to the doctor where it’s revealed the main character not only suffers from tinnitus but is gradually losing her hearing permanently due to the punk music of her youth. A former photographer of the punk era, friends to an infamous punk band and numerous singers of the time, Elena is reeling from the implication. She’s getting old. When did that happen?
For me, an instantly relatable character, who just wants to be left alone with her memories, music and photographs. But the recent and sudden death of an infamous punk rocker drags her back into the spotlight, and she finds herself in NYC for an exhibit of her old photographs from that era. Not only is the music then taking her hearing now, but there are old and terrible memories she’s running from that now have been let loose. Worse, she’s the only one who can hear the voices of the murdered dead.
Another page turner, immersive and original. Highly recommended.

thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book to review

A different kind of “thriller”. Still a thrilling read. Fast paced and different. I liked it. A twisty story with a main character of a certain age. Different than most in the genre. I enjoyed reading about the punk scene when most books are written about the hippie scene. A great read overall. You won’t be disappointed.