Review of the Day: The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu

This novel tells the story of Eleanor, a therapist who has finally managed to become a homeowner; things go downhill from there. 

If only, that first day Eleanor saw the house, she’d hesitated longer, made a lower offer. If only one of Matt’s kids had woken up that morning with the flu, or an accident had blocked off the highway, or the rains had started sooner, washing out the mountain road. If only she’d never come at all (loc 53).

Approximately half of the book is about all the things that go wrong with Eleanor’s house —  it starts with a call to a locksmith who informs her she has water coming in through her windows and things become progressively worse — with the other half of the book about her work as a therapist. She sees all of her patients remotely over the internet and their mental health issues begin to affect Eleanor and compound her anxiety and depression that comes from the many problems she has with her new house.

My first exposure to Kim Fu’s work was her story collection Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. I really enjoyed those stories. My overall impression of this novel is that it would have been better if it had been a 120 page novella. However, I did enjoy reading the book.

epub. 240 pgs. 2 March 2026.