While I was listening to this audiobook I couldn't help flashing back to the movie The Paper Chase which is about law students at Harvard University. That movie would have come out almost 50 years ago as I remember watching it when I was in law school (1974 to 1977). Obviously pressure on students to achieve at Harvard continues.

Cadence (Cady) Archer was determined to follow her genius brother (Eric) into Harvard University even though her brother committed suicide the year before. Cady's mother highly disapproved of this academic path and wouldn't even join her husband when he dropped Cady off at school. Eric had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was known to go off his meds so his killing himself was blamed on that. Cady wasn't so sure and one of her reasons for going to Harvard was to find out as much as she could about her brother's last months. Shortly after Cady gets to Harvard she starts hearing voices and worries that she also has schizophrenia. One of the voices she hears belongs to a black woman called Bilhah. When Cady sees a plaque naming Bilhah as a slave in the Harvard president's house in the 18th century she realizes that the voices she hears belong to people who actually lived. The other two voices belong to men from the 20th century, one called just Bob for most of the book and the other, Whit, longs to work on dirigibles in the Navy. Each of these ghosts seem to require something from Cady which just adds to her stress level due to class load, an almost rape at a frat party, finding clues to her brother's actions and a professor who seems to hate her. And, of course, like any other first year university student she is not sleeping enough, drinking too much and eating badly. The one thing that seems to be going well is the attention of her brother's friend, handsome Brit physics student Nikos. Or is it? Nikos is now working with Eric's advisor, the beautiful Mikaela Prokop, and Cady begins to suspect that Prokop was and probably still is selling secrets to the Russians. Does Nikos know? Is this why at the beginning of the book it appears that Cady is likely to commit suicide as her brother did? You'll have to read it to find out.

The author is the daughter of well-known writer Lisa Scottoline. I've read a few of Scottoline's books but don't remember much about them. I might have to see if she is as good a writer as her daughter. ( )

When I first heard about this novel it was described as a thriller, which to me means a fast-paced page-turner. This book was a slower read for me and I enjoyed it. I like the way Serritella weaves history with the present as well as her compassionate/realistic depiction of mental illness. This is the author's first novel and I look forward to seeing what she writes next. ( )

I had a lot of expectations going into this book; especially since it was a book bordering on mental illness and paranormal activity. However, after reading this book, I am genuinely pleased with how the author navigated mental illness while also leaving room for a paranormal thriller! This book is everything you could ask for in a reading. It talks about relationships, grief, mystery/clues, ghosts, mental illness, and some history. It is beautifully blended together into a coherent story. â €
â €
No spoilers here, but y'all! Can we talk about that ending?? The author cleverly laid it out for me as I was reading and I chose to not see the twist!! I didn't want to - I was in denial! I think the ending really tied up loose ends really well and captured the essence of healing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, really. It has so many elements to please just about anyone. It is not too scary, but has the right amount of "creepy" to keep you on the edge! â €
â €
You will like this book if: â €
-you enjoy thrillers! 😱⠀
-slow burn books with payoff 🔥⠀
-unexpected, but appreciated twists 🤯⠀
-mental health awareness 🧠 ( )

This book really keeps you guessing throughout. I enjoyed it immensely. Fantastic combination of mystery, supernatural elements, and commentary on mental health and grief. The details in this book were very strong without getting boring. Solid debut, looking forward to big things from this author. ( )

I wanted to love this one, especially with the serious topics it covers. However; I could not get into this one at all. Nothing was happening and I found myself not wanting to grab for it.

DNF ( )