The [church] is small, ancient, its stained-glass windows a bit dull but I guess they’re leery of cleaning them lest they break. I step onto the little portico to examine the door, which isn’t exactly typical: it’s not banded with iron like most of its age and type but looks no less venerable. It’s a single piece of wood, no sigh of joins, and the carving is what grabs my interest: a tree with a rope hanging from a branch and a man suspended from the noose.
–from chapter 5
Dr. Everly Bainbridge, wife of Nick Mitchell, mother of Ruby, has wandered her apartment zombie-like for four months, unable to write on her second novel, barely able to feed and clothe and wash herself after Nick and Ruby die in a car accident. She has learned, since his death, that Nick had monetary resources she never suspected while, during their marriage, she had scrimped and saved. Now she suspects he had other secrets, a history as other than the orphan child he had claimed to be, and probably an affair as well.
Nick’s lawyer, Albert Lowen, visits her to sign papers. Gradually he convinces her to leave the apartment, look to heal elsewhere, she certainly has the money to do so. He arranges a new car for her, a house-sit on an island near the small town of St. Jude’s, lovely, next the sea, secluded, with an interesting little church. She’s surprised when the house is more of a mansion, Morningthrope Manor to be precise, known locally as the Cold House. The Cold House has a history, one not cozy or comfy, and often inimical to women, especially those identified as witches.
Everly has a history, too. And secrets she never shared with Nick. And a harsher side of herself has already surfaced since his death. A side she’ll need to survive.
This is the first I’ve read by Slatter set in contemporary times and not part of her Sourdough Universe. Her story collection A Feast of Sorrows and her novel A Path of Thorns are among my favorite reads of the last ten years, and so she’s a writer I look out for. Under one hundred and fifty pages, The Cold House is sleek and concise, evocative of her setting, with plausible characters and conversations beautifully written in Everly Bainbridge’s voice, a voice at times haunted by grief, and at other times wryly humorous about her situation. I am impressed with how much of character, history and setting she was able to pack into such a short book. Both propulsive and atmospheric, I found this book a perfect read for October and the Halloween season.
THE COLD HOUSE by A. G. Slatter
Titan Books, 2025
ISBN: 978 183 5412 541
160 pages
Review by Randy Money
