Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.
As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.
And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.
A Box Full of Darkness is a genre-bending hybrid of literary thriller, supernatural mystery, and psychological family drama. Like many of the author’s past novels, the story has some seriously disturbing supernatural elements combined with family secrets, trauma, and a haunted-house setting. The story follows the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—whose lives were torn apart by the terrifying disappearance of their little brother Ben during a childhood game of hide‑and‑seek. For nearly two decades their relationships have been fractured, until a chilling message from Ben’s ghost—“come home”—draws them back to their hometown of Fell, New York.
The story is told by the alternating POVs of the siblings—all very different, introspective, and eerily familiar feeling. The author makes the siblings feel so real and relatable as she peels back their layers. Violet, whose ability to see dead people destroyed her marriage and landed her in a mental hospital, is fierce and undeniably likeable, despite visibly carrying childhood trauma that makes her nasty at times. Vail, a supernatural investigator, is a very complex character who clashes with his siblings and appears outwardly selfish when in fact he’s very concerned for his sisters and finding answers for them. Meanwhile, Dodie, who’s most reluctant to return home, is the perfect emotional balance with her witty banter. The siblings’s return to their hometown forces them to reconnect and confront their shared trauma—and all their interactions feel raw and emotional and provide heart amidst all the horror! Minor romantic subplots bring just the right touch of warmth and humor, appearing at the perfect moments without ever pulling focus from the central ghostly mystery.
The story has a slow-burn start, drawing readers in via the tension of the siblings’ fractured relationships and the lingering mystery of Ben’s disappearance. As the siblings settle into the house and begin their investigation, the ghostly presences—both benevolent and malevolent—begin to reveal themselves, adding rich layers to the story. In the midsection, the siblings dig deeper into the house and the town, with each new discovery building more terror, like a whisper that’s about to explode into a scream! After such a buildup of dread and horrifying ghostly reveals, the story culminates in a thrilling confrontation that ends rather abruptly. The ending that follows leaves too many questions unanswered to be fully satisfying, but what it does instead is give some closure to the character arcs of the siblings, which feels more like a literary, thought-provoking ending than that of a ghost story. Regardless, the eerie echo of the story will linger long after the final page!
Overall, A Box Full of Darkness is a highly original gothic thriller with its haunted house settings, character‑driven mysteries, and literary prose. Readers who enjoy books with layered haunted house stories that cause a chill to crawl up their spine and that will stay with them afterwards should definitely grab a copy of this one!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of A Box Full of Darkness is a chilling listen read by award-winning voice actors Saskia Maarleveld, Ari Fliakos, and Anna Caputo. Saskia Maarleveld portrays Violet using a clear, determined voice that captures the character’s emotional fragility and intuition. Maarleveld’s performance is especially impressive in scenes where Violet sees ghosts or has to deal with the malevolent “Sister” spirit in the house—the immersive delivery allows listeners to experience all the spine-tingling terror with Violet while simultaneously feeling her fearless tenacity! The dialogue between Violet and Bradley is a highlight, bringing sarcasm and unexpected warmth to the story and giving readers a respite from the psychological tension—Saskia makes their chemistry palpable and growing connection very enjoyable.
Ari Fliakos’s narration of Vail is one of the strengths of the audiobook. He gives Vail a calm, emotionally intelligent voice that matches his independent personality and experience with paranormal investigations. Fliakos’s delivery during introspective moments (when Vail is coming to terms with past guilt and trying to find the best path to solve the mystery of his brother’s disappearance) is so immersive and convincing that listeners will feel like they’re delving into the character’s psyche and will be able to understand his feelings and motivations. By the end, Fliakos shifts his performance of Vail, using a quieter, more reflective tone tinged with a sense of hope and possibility as the character remains in the house alone—and the compelling delivery of the last scenes will linger with listeners afterwards!
Anna Caputo brings Dodie to life with an intelligent, emotional voice. In the early chapters, Caputo uses a more guarded, introspective tone to convey Dodie’s grief and lingering trauma over her missing brother. As the story unfolds, Caputo subtly shifts her performance to reflect Dodie’s growing courage and determination, especially when she communicates with ghosts and bonds with her brother—making the character feel very real and relatable. Caputo does an excellent job with the dialogue between Dodie and her siblings, giving each voice a distinct personality and making their interactions feel authentic, heartfelt, and layered!
Together, the three narrators give distinct and equally powerful performances of the siblings and their fractured relationships, very much mirroring real-life sibling dynamics. The expert pacing by all three narrators mirrors the story: measured and slow-burn during inner dialogue and more urgent during ghostly confrontations and family drama—making it easy for listeners to remain engaged, even in slower sections! This audiobook is a great option for listeners who enjoy haunted ghost stories with complex family dynamics and multi-voice audiobooks with clear character differentiation, emotional depth, and lots of atmospheric suspense!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of A Box Full of Darkness is a chilling listen read by award-winning voice actors Saskia Maarleveld, Ari Fliakos, and Anna Caputo. Saskia Maarleveld portrays Violet using a clear, determined voice that captures the character’s emotional fragility and intuition. Maarleveld’s performance is especially impressive in scenes where Violet sees ghosts or has to deal with the malevolent “Sister” spirit in the house—the immersive delivery allows listeners to experience all the spine-tingling terror with Violet while simultaneously feeling her fearless tenacity! The dialogue between Violet and Bradley is a highlight, bringing sarcasm and unexpected warmth to the story and giving readers a respite from the psychological tension—Saskia makes their chemistry palpable and growing connection very enjoyable.
Ari Fliakos’s narration of Vail is one of the strengths of the audiobook. He gives Vail a calm, emotionally intelligent voice that matches his independent personality and experience with paranormal investigations. Fliakos’s delivery during introspective moments (when Vail is coming to terms with past guilt and trying to find the best path to solve the mystery of his brother’s disappearance) is so immersive and convincing that listeners will feel like they’re delving into the character’s psyche and will be able to understand his feelings and motivations. By the end, Fliakos shifts his performance of Vail, using a quieter, more reflective tone tinged with a sense of hope and possibility as the character remains in the house alone—and the compelling delivery of the last scenes will linger with listeners afterwards!
Anna Caputo brings Dodie to life with an intelligent, emotional voice. In the early chapters, Caputo uses a more guarded, introspective tone to convey Dodie’s grief and lingering trauma over her missing brother. As the story unfolds, Caputo subtly shifts her performance to reflect Dodie’s growing courage and determination, especially when she communicates with ghosts and bonds with her brother—making the character feel very real and relatable. Caputo does an excellent job with the dialogue between Dodie and her siblings, giving each voice a distinct personality and making their interactions feel authentic, heartfelt, and layered!
Together, the three narrators give distinct and equally powerful performances of the siblings and their fractured relationships, very much mirroring real-life sibling dynamics. The expert pacing by all three narrators mirrors the story: measured and slow-burn during inner dialogue and more urgent during ghostly confrontations and family drama—making it easy for listeners to remain engaged, even in slower sections! This audiobook is a great option for listeners who enjoy haunted ghost stories with complex family dynamics and multi-voice audiobooks with clear character differentiation, emotional depth, and lots of atmospheric suspense!
The audiobook of A Box Full of Darkness is a chilling listen read by award-winning voice actors Saskia Maarleveld, Ari Fliakos, and Anna Caputo. Saskia Maarleveld portrays Violet using a clear, determined voice that captures the character’s emotional fragility and intuition. Maarleveld’s performance is especially impressive in scenes where Violet sees ghosts or has to deal with the malevolent “Sister” spirit in the house—the immersive delivery allows listeners to experience all the spine-tingling terror with Violet while simultaneously feeling her fearless tenacity! The dialogue between Violet and Bradley is a highlight, bringing sarcasm and unexpected warmth to the story and giving readers a respite from the psychological tension—Saskia makes their chemistry palpable and growing connection very enjoyable.
Ari Fliakos’s narration of Vail is one of the strengths of the audiobook. He gives Vail a calm, emotionally intelligent voice that matches his independent personality and experience with paranormal investigations. Fliakos’s delivery during introspective moments (when Vail is coming to terms with past guilt and trying to find the best path to solve the mystery of his brother’s disappearance) is so immersive and convincing that listeners will feel like they’re delving into the character’s psyche and will be able to understand his feelings and motivations. By the end, Fliakos shifts his performance of Vail, using a quieter, more reflective tone tinged with a sense of hope and possibility as the character remains in the house alone—and the compelling delivery of the last scenes will linger with listeners afterwards!
Anna Caputo brings Dodie to life with an intelligent, emotional voice. In the early chapters, Caputo uses a more guarded, introspective tone to convey Dodie’s grief and lingering trauma over her missing brother. As the story unfolds, Caputo subtly shifts her performance to reflect Dodie’s growing courage and determination, especially when she communicates with ghosts and bonds with her brother—making the character feel very real and relatable. Caputo does an excellent job with the dialogue between Dodie and her siblings, giving each voice a distinct personality and making their interactions feel authentic, heartfelt, and layered!
Together, the three narrators give distinct and equally powerful performances of the siblings and their fractured relationships, very much mirroring real-life sibling dynamics. The expert pacing by all three narrators mirrors the story: measured and slow-burn during inner dialogue and more urgent during ghostly confrontations and family drama—making it easy for listeners to remain engaged, even in slower sections! This audiobook is a great option for listeners who enjoy haunted ghost stories with complex family dynamics and multi-voice audiobooks with clear character differentiation, emotional depth, and lots of atmospheric suspense!
