First published 2017
The museum director watches visitor numbers drop at the historic Bellaver house, once home to a California governor. His job hangs in the balance as the 1800s mansion struggles to stay relevant. Enter the new docent, a Goth woman who claims spirits speak to her. She arrives with questions about Oliver Bellaver, the governor's son who died young over a century ago. Rumors about the boy's death have persisted through generations of visitors and staff. The director needs to keep his position. The docent wants answers about Oliver. They form an unlikely partnership to dig into the family's past. Their investigation reveals secrets about the Bellaver household, where the divide between wealthy masters and working servants created dangerous tensions. As they piece together Oliver's story, they uncover betrayals that tore the family apart during an era when women fought for the right to vote. The search forces both characters to confront how history gets told and retold, and whether some truths should remain buried with the dead.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, paranormal, 21st-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bellaver House, California
Period: 1800s
628 pages · Kindle Edition
Content warnings: death, mental-illness