A mystery/horror/ghost story, based on a true story.

It's a chilling slow-burn mystery. A true crime writer is tasked with ghostwriting a book about orphanage, rumored to be a site of past abuse. Her investigation unearths the decades-old disappearance of a young boy believed by some to have drowned and by others to have run away. As the writer digs deeper into the mystery, a series of suspicious deaths begin to plague those around her, - is she on the verge of uncovering a dark truth?

I did complete the book, but it was a little too slow-burn for me, personally. If you like atmospheric books in the mystery, horror or ghost genres, you will enjoy this book.

There’s a difficult line to walk when it comes to ‘enjoying’ thrillers – there’s deliberate complicity from a reader’s perspective, watching crime take place for our entertainment – but while I would still label Coram House an entertaining book from the perspective of the thriller section of a bookstore, it’s also an *important* novel.

As her life threatens to fall apart entirely, struggling crime writer Alex Kelley picks up a deal ghost-writing about Coram House, a church-run orphanage in Vermont infamous for the uncovered abuses of children alleged to have taken place. Fifty years earlier, a nine-year-old boy disappears from Coram House, without a trace: people allege he ran away, others claim he was drowned by one of the nuns, and some even claim he never existed at all. As Alex handles conflicting sources and a hostile police department, she begins to think that the mysteries of Coram House might be solved by discerning little Tommy’s fate – and that late justice might stop the increasing number of deaths erupting in correspondence with her research…

Fundamentally important to Coram House is the fact that much of its historical context is modelled on that of a real Catholic Church-run orphanage in Vermont: St Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage in Burlington. Horrendous stories of abuse have been brought to life by brave survivors, alike survivors of Church-sanctioned abuse elsewhere in the US, and in countries such as Canada, Ireland, the UK, and so many others where the Catholic Church holds institutional power, and many details, which are incorporated into Coram House, are in many cases so horrifying that, until reading the tell-all 2018 Buzzfeed article by journalist Christine Kenneally, I genuinely thought Seybolt had made them up. It’s important to tell these stories for justice and to make sure such abuses of power don’t happen again: with recent news articles returning to the discovery of mass graves of children at Church-run mother-and-baby homes in Ireland, it is vitally important to keep these stories in the public eye.

Alex, Coram House’s protagonist, is a brilliant lead for a thriller: often, since they are often viewpoints for a reader to try and solve the mystery through, thriller leads often bore me as characters in and of themselves, but she’s both funny and headstrong, and its leads to some excellent, characterful moments, especially in combination with the grief she is established with at the beginning of the novel. Almost every introduced deuteragonist is sinister to the point of discomfort, the shifting timelines never let you become entirely confident with what’s going on, and the narrative is genuinely twisty, continually throwing you off the scent of where Alex’s investigation is going – especially when she is being equally mislead. While it’s often a difficult read due to content involving violence against or general mistreatment of children – adult survivors of Coram House are each uniquely traumatised – Corma House is an important read, especially within the current context of the discovery of Church abuses, and alongside that, a genuinely good thriller.

With thanks to the author, publishers Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and Raven Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a real page-turner that drew me in right from the start and kept me wanting to find out what would happen next! There were no lulls in the pacing, with always enough happening to keep the reader interested.

The revelation at the end of the book that Coram House was based on a real location where this kind of abuse was prevalent was a little shocking. However, despite the sometimes difficult subject matter, I felt it was handled quite sensitively and so this was not an uncomfortable read at all.

Great writing, well-developed and interesting characters, and a storyline that delivers throughout with a satisfying twist at the end, made this a 5-star read in my book!

If you love:
Creepy mysteries, sinister nuns, missing children, true crime, ghost writer turned detective, remote town vibes, is everyone a suspect, cover ups, morally grey, debut novels, then this is the read for you.
This slow burn mystery will suck you in. True crime writer, Alex, accepts a commission to ghost write a story about an old orphanage being redeveloped as luxury condos, and a cover up of abuse by the church. Alex becomes obsessed with a young boy called Tommy who some children said was deliberately drowned in the lake near the orphanage, but the stories are confusing and no records exist of Tommy. Should Alex just write the facts she's been presented with or start her own investigation? Does anyone care about Tommy?

This book was such a page turner, I love it, kept me hooked the entire time, I felt like this is so different to anything I have read before

I absolutely love true crime and when I read the blurb for this book I just knew this sounded like the kind of fictionalised crime / thriller that I’d love to read. It’s worth noting this was inspired by true events too.

Coram House holds a dark past of abuse against the orphanages child residents, fifty years later we meet Alex who has had her own tragedies in her life and comes to help ghostwrite a book on the case. Little does she know she’s about to uncover even darker corners of Coram Houses past. This is a punchy thriller, full of twists and darkness you’ll need to go pet your dog after some chapters. I felt suspicious of almost everyone’s motives and involvement throughout the story, but Bailey Seybolt keeps the reader engaged and almost trying to get 10 steps ahead to crack this case. Try as I might, I am no detective and was GLUED to the final chapters seeing this unfold.

Absolutely excellent! Loved every second reading this book it was so page-turning and addictive. Huge thank you for sending it to me it was honestly fantastic and I highly recommend it to everyone!!

I choose the books I read by instinct. I actually don't want to know too much about them before opening the pages. This book is a good example, the name Coram House peaked my interest. Many times I have visited the foundling museum in London and learnt how Thomas Coram started the foundling hospital in 1739. I've heard many stories about the plights of those abandoned children. The 'Coram' is a thriving charity today.
I was eager to read this book, set in present day Vermont, Alex Kelly an author, is struggling to get a book written. She has accepted to ghost write a book about an orphanage that has long closed and being turned into luxury flats. The church have made settlements for children who were abused but so much was covered up and Alex in writing her book wants to find out what really happened. This book is atmospheric and made me feel cold as the snows came down and sad.
I really enjoyed this book and never really found out if there was there a link to Thomas Coram the English philanthropist but it didn't matter.

Topical! I read this at the time the Catholic Church were choosing a new pope. There is a connection and it is dated back in history with the main character exploring abuse in the church. The main character is ghost writing a book and is, unsurprisingly, being censored. Despite the difficult subject it’s well written a good story.

An abandoned and dilapidated orphanage once run by nuns, conflicting stories of murder(s), set over a span over several decades on the shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont - what's not to love about that?

This book has all the hallmarks of the stories written by my favourite author, Carol Goodman - even the location is very similar to what I would call her bread and butter books. But luckily, it's not a carbon copy, not in the slightest. Instead, it's a story that stands on its own feet with a strong plot, well developed characters and, of course, a great twist. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, but only really suspected the actual murderer towards the very end, and only because I've read and watched a lot of stories like these before!

The pace was excellent, enough to keep you gripped and guessing, but I didn't want to speed through it in a single sitting - long enough to really enjoy it. One of my favourite things about it is the setting - it's a specific place that I have visited a couple of times, and the surrounding area is one of my favourites too, so to read about it in a hot summer in days gone by and the present freezing days of winter was brilliant.

If you like pacy thrillers with a good mystery, this one will be for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for a review copy of this book.

THIS IS A BOOK.
Maybe that statement only works when you're talking but oh my god. I have been waiting for a good read the whole of this year and Ms Coram House you are that GIRL.
The writing was descriptive without being excessive. The characters were layered but not rambly. There were a couple of moments where the FMC was a bit stupid with things they overlooked, which didn't seem like things that that character wouldn't have noticed. But I think sometimes you need that for a whodunnit.
I love that it was based on a real place.
One of the best books I've read (in this genre) this year.

I found it hard to believe that Coram House is a debut novel, so well-written and accomplished was this work of fiction. Bailey Seybolt has chosen as her first-person narrator a true crime writer by the name of Alex who has fallen from grace following some hasty decision early on in her writing career. Alex is now hoping to revive her tattered career by researching and writing an article on a horrific topic that goes unresolved to this day: the clandestine abuse of children at children’s homes half a century ago. Interviewing former residents who witnessed the brutal treatment of their peers is tough on Alex, who has only recently lost her husband. Her own unresolved trauma soon starts to intermingle with that of her witnesses, affecting her judgement. Coming up against resistance from her bosses, the local police, and other citizens who would sooner leave the past under wraps, will Alex achieve her aim of calling out previous injustices and cruelties and getting justice for the former victims?
This was a challenging read on a harrowing aspect of twentieth-century society that is still not fully resolved. Sensitively written, this is a novel that deserves as large an audience as possible to help establish an altogether more nuanced and sensitive understanding of how best to support our most vulnerable members of society.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for the free ARC that allowed me to read Coram House.

True crime writer Alex is ready for a new start and a new crime to write about. Her own life has taken some tragic turns but now she wants a new start and the Coram House mystery seems like the place to start only she's now about to find that its far more complicated than she ever thought. Who's telling the truth and did a young boy really go missing?

This was an interesting story. However the main mystery with the little boy got lost in all the other parts of the story. There's a lot going on so it takes time for it all to come together which is does by the end. This does also lightly touch on sexual abuse but its not a big part of the story though I expected it given how the story was going. The ending was interesting and a clever twist though I did have a little bit of an idea about it. Alex isnt overly likeable though I felt for her. She drinks a lot and tends to act quite recklessly at times. Karen was probably the most honest in the whole book despite her small role. A twisted tale.

Sinister nuns, a missing child who no-one seems to know about...oh, and a trail of murders. Alex goes to investigate precisely what happened years ago in Coram house, and starts uncovering more dark secrets.

I had no idea that this was based on a true story when I first requested it, and continued to read it as if it were just 'another thriller' but the authors not send me to a deep dive into the real case, too.

This was well written, complex, mysterious and a tiny bit terrifying as fiction, but quite a bit terrifying when based on a true story. - I enjoyed this and would love to read more by Bailey

Following a personal bereavement & a scandal following her last true crime book, writer Alex Kelly is offered the opportunity to ghost-write a book about a long closed-down orphanage in Vermont named Coram House. The job means packing up & moving on-site to Vermont for 6 months but when Alex arrives some of the locals are rather unfriendly & definitely not co-operative, including her police liaison.

The Church who owned the orphanage paid out to some of the former occupants of Coram House for the abuse they suffered whilst there, but Alex is sure there is an additional story here - murder. She starts to investigate but someone wants the truth to stay hidden & will kill to ensure it does.

This could have been a really dark, almost gothic, mystery thriller - all the ingredients were there, but it was a bit of a miss for me. I think the issue is that the main character, Alex Kelly, is difficult to like. She does all the clichéd things: drinks too much making her unreliable, rushes into situations without thinking, thinks she's the only one who can solve a cold case, thinks she's the only one with any tragedy in her life, blah blah blah blah. Yes, I really didn't care for her character at all if you can tell so it affected my enjoyment of this one. 3.25 stars (rounded down)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC/Raven Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book. I was not paid to read and review this book, any thoughts or opinions expressed are my own.

3.75 ⭐️

Coram House follows writer Alex Kelley as she relocates to a new city to research and write a book about the mysterious Coram House. While digging into old depositions from a case that surfaced in the late ’80s, she discovers mention of a little boy known only as Tommy—and becomes determined to uncover what happened to him. The story includes several twists and red herrings, and I have to say, the final reveal genuinely surprised me, which I always appreciate.


Seybolt does a great job building an eerie, unsettling atmosphere—I definitely felt the tension as I read. That said, I had a few issues. I found myself frustrated by Alex’s repeated poor decisions; she somehow escapes danger despite making choices that seem to defy logic. I also felt the pacing was too slow in the beginning. I can appreciate a slow burn, but this one took a while to really find its momentum—it didn’t pick up until around the halfway point.


All in all, I did enjoy the book, especially for its suspense and the twist ending. But the slow start and occasionally maddening protagonist did detract from the overall experience.

Struggling true crime writer Alex is offered to ghost write a book about an old orphanage where a child vanished. Desperate for a fresh start she accepts. She travels to wintry Vermont and is soon discovering that there may be more to this mystery when she discovers a woman’s body in the lake. Are these events connected?

I liked the sound of this debut and I can say after reading that this was a solid mystery. I enjoyed the subject of the ghostwriter and the fact this was inspired by true life, which made it feel more authentic. The overall story was very well written and very atmospheric. Even though the story at time was very dark and bleak, I felt engaged in the plot and wanted to carry on to see what would happen.

The story is told in some mixed media and I enjoyed the interview transcripts. I think these added extra intrigue. The story was quite a slow burn, which I usually don’t love, however in this instance it worked. This was a clever, eerie debut overall and I would read more by this author. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this eCopy to review

I recently finished Coram House, and it was an eerie, atmospheric read that kept me hooked from start to finish. Seybolt blends true crime and fiction in a way that feels both unsettling and immersive, making this novel a gripping experience.

The story revolves around Alex Kelley, a struggling true crime writer who moves to Burlington, Vermont, to ghost write a book about Coram House, a now-abandoned orphanage with a dark past. Decades earlier, in 1968, nine-year-old Tommy vanished without a trace from the orphanage. Rumours swirled: some claimed a nun drowned him, others believed he ran away, and some even questioned whether he ever existed at all.

Fifty years later, Tommy’s disappearance remains unsolved. As Alex digs into the orphanage’s history, she uncovers disturbing accounts of abuse and secrecy. But things take a chilling turn when she discovers a woman’s body in the lake near Coram House. Convinced that the death is connected to the orphanage’s past, Alex pushes forward with her investigation, despite scepticism from local police officer Russell Parker. As more bodies turn up, Alex realizes that the key to solving the present-day murders lies in unravelling Tommy’s fate, before she becomes the next victim.

What I loved most about Coram House was its haunting atmosphere. Seybolt’s writing is incredibly immersive, making the orphanage feel like a character in itself, its decaying walls and buried secrets adding to the tension. The mystery unfolds in layers, keeping me engaged as Alex pieces together the truth. The novel also explores the ethics of true crime writing, questioning the impact of digging into past tragedies.

Overall, Coram House is a chilling and well-crafted mystery that blends real-life horrors with fiction. If you enjoy atmospheric thrillers with slow-burning tension, this one is worth picking up. A compelling and unsettling story.

Unfortunately, Coram House just didn’t work for me. I struggled to get into it from the start, mainly because the plot never truly hooked me. I wasn’t invested in the story or the characters, and I found myself indifferent to what was happening.

The book felt like it was trying to build off a previous story, even though it’s a standalone. There were heavy references to past events and character backstories that made it feel like I was missing some key context. I think the inclusion of mixed media or a more layered narrative could’ve helped build tension and intrigue, which the story really needed.

The main character didn’t resonate with me at all. Since the entire book is told through their POV, my lack of connection to them really impacted my enjoyment. I expected a slow-burn thriller, but what I got felt dry, predictable, and lacking in suspense.

While I appreciated the eerie setting—Coram House definitely had potential as a chilling backdrop—I felt it was underused. The wintery, isolated atmosphere could’ve been such a strong asset, but it never became a character in itself.

In the end, while the writing wasn’t bad, the story just didn’t land for me. I couldn’t connect, didn’t care about the outcome, and ultimately found it forgettable.

We start in the past. At Coram House back in the 60s, when it was an orphanage run by Nuns. There were rumours of cruel behaviour, injuries, disappearances, and deaths. One such disappearance/death was a young boy called Tommy. But with conflicting stories about him, was he real or just a story told to frighten kids? Did he die, run away, or did he never exist at all?
Enter true crime author Alex Kelley who is really struggling to write her second book. She has been commissioned to ghostwrite a book about the orphanage. To do so, she has to move to the locale, to Burlington Vermont, to take her instructions, and make a start on the research.
So she starts her investigations in earnest. Using both old written information and also interviewing several people, she starts to home in on Tommy's story. She also visits the old house which is being redeveloped, interestingly by one of the former residents.
And then a body turns up. Deemed to be an accidental death, Alex isn't convinced when the woman turns out to be related to Coram House. But she has some persuading to do as local cop Russell Parker is not convinced.
One of the things I loved about this book was its use to mixed media to "tell" the story via transcripts and court documents. I always find these to be a very good way of imparting a lot of information in a succinct and easy to follow way. We also go back to the past using flashbacks. These are injected perfectly to both illustrate what is happening in the present as well as progressing the story.
It's not a fast paced book. But the pacing does match the narrative. It is all about a cold case after all and these tend to move at a much slower pace than a fresh case. It also helps and adds to the chilling nature of the case in question. A case that I understand is born from reality and which chilled me when I read more about it.
I also took to Alex as a character right from the start. She both interested and intrigued me and was well fleshed out with a tragic back story. She also progressed nicely throughout the book, which was good for both her and me as a reader.
And if I wasn't impressed enough by this book, I find out that it is a debut, which kinda blew me away. And led me to wondering what the author will follow up with? I am definitely going to be looking out for that...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.