I have greatly enjoyed Grady Hendrix’s books so far, there are still a couple more for me to track down, and I’m willing to say How to Sell a Haunted House is one of his best. Combining a story of loss with a puppet that seems to be the equal of the clown doll in the original Poltergeist, Hendrix tells a frequently funny and emotional story laced with some serious scares.

Louise’s parents have just died in a car accident, so she’s returned to her childhood home to take help her brother, Mark, take care of things and settle the estate. They don’t get along, in fact, they seem to hate each other, though Louise tries to be the more adult of the pair.

But that doesn’t always work.

They have to deal with the estate, their late mother’s collection of dolls (creepy) and a menagerie of puppets that she’s created for her church programme, including the clown, Pupkin, the first puppet their mother made.

As family secrets come to the fore, Louise and Mark work on a way to get their childhood home ready for sale, but Mark insists it’s got a bad vibe, the family realtor insists there’s something wrong with the house, and Louise’s hold on reality begins to crack as it seems some of the dolls have been moved around, while no one is there, and… hey, is that Pupkin?!

The book is broken into the five stages of grief, and each section leans into that with its narrative. It consequently delivers a number of scares, laughs and surprisingly resonant and emotional beats.

It’s a very enjoyable read, and I found myself really engaged in the story, as well as the characters. Even when there were nods to other things all of the story works. Hendrix has this wonderful knack of being able to balance the laughs with the scares, sometimes both at the same time.

Hendrix grounds Louise in an almost tangible reality, she’s a person in pain suffering from loss, and as most people can relate to that, it’s easy for the reader to identify with her and buy-in to her journey even when it dives into the supernatural.

How to Sell a Haunted House is a great ride, filled with great moments that had me shaking my head over how ‘not right’ something is, or how funny something hits, and delighting in the emotional moments the character goes through.

Hendrix is a wonderful author, one I know that when I pick up one of his books, I’m going to love it, and this one was no different. Check it out.