After discovering Simone St. James with Murder Road, there is a particular level of excitement I get out of diving into one of their novels and this went the same for A Box Full of Darkness. St. James’ latest novel is creepy, eerie, thrilling, and most of all had me hooked.
Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.
As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.
And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.
I am not sure what I expected when I started A Box Full of Darkness, but it turned out to be a surprise…in the best way. Simone St. James gave us a unique haunted house tale that was full of twists and turns. There is a ton of uneasiness mixed with emotional depth when the three siblings are called back to their childhood home by their deceased brother. This combination of fear and emotional connection made it easy to continue reading.
A Box Full of Darkness is part ghost story, part haunted house horror, and part an emotional redemption story, all wrapped up into a thrilling horror. It lands perfect jump scares and timely creepy moments that made me glad I wasn’t alone in my house. While this paranormal thriller was fun to read, I did struggle a bit with the names of the three siblings and at times had a tough time figuring out who was who, but this might just be me.
It was clever of St. James to tie this story to The Sun Down Motel. At first, I thought the reference was a fund nod, but it didn’t stop with one mention. However, this story can be read as a standalone without knowing about the 2020 novel.
A Box Full of Darkness is another strong tale from Simone St. James. While it doesn’t live up to Murder Road or even the book with a slight connection, The Sun Down Motel, it was definitely a enjoyable and truly unsettling novel.
A Box Full of Darkness hits bookstores everywhere from on January 20, 2026 from Berkley. The audiobook is available for preorder via Libro.fm!
