Coram House: A Novel

Synopsis

Sharp Objects meets I Have Some Questions for You in this haunting novel—inspired by a true story—about a crime writer who risks everything as she investigates the mystery of two deaths, decades apart, at a crumbling Vermont orphanage.On a blistering summer day in 1968, nine-year-old Tommy vanishes without a trace from Coram House, an orphanage on the shores of Lake Champlain. Some say a nun drowned him, others say he ran away. Or maybe he never existed. Fifty years later, his disappearance is still unsolved. Struggling true crime writer Alex Kelley needs a fresh start. When she&’s asked to ghostwrite a book about the orphanage—and the abuses that occurred there—she packs up her belongings and moves to wintry Burlington, Vermont. As Alex tries to untangle the conflicting stories surrounding Tommy&’s disappearance, her investigation takes a chilling turn when she discovers a woman&’s body in the lake. Alex is convinced the death is connected to Coram House&’s dark past, even if local police officer Russell Parker thinks she&’s just desperate for a career-saving story. As the body count rises, Alex must prove that the key to finding the killer lies in Tommy&’s murder, or risk becoming the next victim. Drawing inspiration from the real-life stories of St. Joseph&’s Orphanage, Coram House &“reckons with both the long aftermath of violence and the hazards of writing true crime. It is an eerie, suspenseful mystery, sure to find readers among fans of Tana French&” (Flynn Berry, author of Northern Spy).

Copyright:

2025

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781668057025

Related ISBNs:

9781668057001

Publisher:

Atria Books

Date of Addition:

04/15/25

Copyrighted By:

Elizabeth Bailey Seybolt

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.