Some things haunt us for a lifetime. For the Esmie siblings, it’s the disappearance of their baby brother, Ben. They were only children, playing a simple game of hide-and-seek, when Ben vanished—never to be seen again. In the aftermath, their parents grew distant, and as soon as they were old enough, Violet, Dodie, and Vail left their hometown behind. But Fell, New York, never truly let them go. Even after their parents’ deaths, they couldn’t bring themselves to sell the family home, clinging to the fragile hope that Ben might one day return.
Twenty years later, that hope is reignited. Violet receives a call from the landscaping company hired to maintain the abandoned property. They report strange sightings—people on the grounds, and a small boy who bears an unsettling resemblance to Ben. Even more chilling, the child reportedly whispered, “Come home.”
Convinced this is more than a coincidence, Violet gathers her siblings and returns to the place that has haunted them for decades. They don’t know what they’ll find waiting for them, but they’re finally ready to face the truth about what happened to their brother.
With A Box Full of Darkness, Simone St. James returns to Fell, New York—the same eerie setting that first unsettled readers in The Sun Down Motel. As in that novel, she weaves a story steeped in atmosphere, where both the place and its people feel haunted by the past. That sense of unease is still very much present, and there are moments of genuine chills throughout. However, this familiar approach has begun to feel a bit repetitive. While the mystery is engaging enough and the twist lands in a way that feels fitting, I found myself less connected to the characters than I had hoped. This disconnect ultimately diminished the story's horror.
There’s no denying St. James’s talent for crafting haunting settings and slow-building dread, and there are certainly readers who will find plenty to enjoy here. For me, though, this one didn’t quite reach the heights I know she’s capable of. It left me wishing for a deeper emotional anchor to match the atmosphere.
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(2026, 30)
