(Pub date 7/21/2026)
The Story Keeper is a work of historical fiction set in New South Wales, Australia — and a novel that contains a novel within it. It will appeal to readers drawn to old houses, books about books, and the kinds of secrets that get buried in families for generations.
Our main character, Fiona Winslow, finds her personal life in shambles. Her marriage has ended and so has her career in architectural restoration. She retreats to the familiar comfort of her childhood home, Wurimbirra, a decaying mansion badly in need of care. With time on her hands and wounds to nurse from a tumultuous year, Fiona throws herself into cleaning and restoring the crumbling estate. In doing so, she unearths secrets that belong to her mother, Ginny, and her uncle Tad, both of whom helped raise her within Wurimbirra's sprawling walls.
While sorting through the house, Fiona stumbles upon a box containing twelve copies of the same book by an author she's never heard of. The novel in question — The Midnight Estate — catches her attention. She begins reading a story that feels eerily familiar, though she's certain she's never encountered it before. Meanwhile, rumors that Wurimbirra is haunted begin to take on new weight as strange things start happening, doors slamming shut on their own, glasses knocked off the counter in the middle of the night.
The Story Keeper is, at times, emotional, reflective, and mysterious. Old houses, strange books, buried secrets. It is an atmospheric novel about love, survival, and second chances — and the stories we inherit without ever being told them.
reviewed by Ashley Ewing
