Review by Emily C. Hughes at Reactor Magazine

I'm delighted to see this take by Emily C. Hughes on The Curse of Hester Gardens over at Reactor Magazine.

“There are a lot of variations on the haunted house story out there, and I’m always delighted to see a fresh angle cross my desk. Thompson’s debut novel takes place in a public housing project in Michigan and follows Nona, a woman doing her best to make ends meet while mourning the violent, senseless death of her eldest son and trying desperately to keep her two younger sons safe. Thompson does a beautiful job exploring the community of Hester Gardens: the competing influences of faith and crime, the complicated interpersonal network of resentments, secrets, and expectations, and the way the residents pick each other up when they fall. And the emotional storytelling is exquisitely done—parts of this novel hit me like a physical blow. Pick it up as soon as you can.”

The full list of essential horror reads can be found here:

https://reactormag.com/demon-descendants-and-deadly-diet-culture-horror-highlights-for-march-2026/