Happy People Don’t Live Here

Happy People Don’t Live Here by Amber Sparks is a quiet, atmospheric cozy gothic horror that is darkly humorous with an undercurrent of melancholy.

Alice is a single mother who is fiercely protective of her 10-year old daughter Fern, a budding detective who spends her time watching the ghosts and interrogating the neighbors in their apartment building (a former sanitorium) after a dead body she saw in the dumpster disappears.

Alice can’t see the ghosts like Fern can, but she is concerned with her own haunted past which she tries not to think about, especially her mother’s depression leading to a successful suicide attempt after several unsuccessful ones and, more recently, their need to flee Fern’s abusive father.

However, Alice finds herself believing in Fern’s ghosts after a summoning ceremony causes the ghost of a conwoman Zilla to solidify, becoming part of the Pine Lake collective.

Happy People Don’t Live Here is filled with delightfully quirky characters - living and otherwise, and it was a ton of fun to spend some time with them.

In addition to reading the ebook, I listened to the audiobook which was well produced and narrated perfectly by Erin DeWard. It’s a real art to differentiate the characters without leaning into caricature, and her cadence and inflection made for a lovely listening experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, W.W. Norton, and Dreamscape Media for the advance copies for my honest review. Pub. date 10/14/25

Support your favorite indie bookstore (and me) by using my link to order the audiobook from https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm60355 OR if you prefer using your eyes to read, support your favorite indie (and give us both 20% off if it’s your first purchase) by using my link at https://refer.bookshop.org/candidanorwood.