Coram House

 

Coram House is a well written fictionalized novel by Bailey Seybolt based on a true story of failure of care and abuse in a children's home in the 1960s in Vermont. Released 15th April 2025 by Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.  It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.Paperback due out from the same publisher in first quarter 2026. 

This is a slow developing, engaging, and often suspenseful story with such a creepy vibe. The local villagers are taciturn and unwilling to speak to outsiders, and true crime ghost writer Alex Kelley soon finds them dismissive and hostile as well as giving wildly contradictory accounts. She's given a mountain of conflicting evidence and court transcriptions from the cases which were brought after Coram House was finally closed permanently. 

Alex is stubborn and resourceful and although not fast paced, does an excellent job of meticulously uncovering the truth and building up brick by brick what likely happened decades ago. Many of the principal players are deceased or unavailable, and of the witnesses who are accessible, many of them are hostile and unwilling to drag the truth into the light.

Content warnings for physical and s*xual abuse of vulnerable children, psychological abuse, misogyny, and murder. It's told in a dual timeline format, and the chapters are clearly labeled, so that the parallel events don't get muddled. It's often difficult dark reading. Definitely not cozy. Even more poignant since it's based on historical events (St. Joseph's Orphanage) whose crimes were never prosecuted due to the statute of limitations having run out.

Four stars. For true-crime and cold-case fans. It would be a good choice for public library, or possibly as a book club selection. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.