Cherie Priest’s It Was Her House First is a fresh take on the haunted house novel, blending magical realism with classic ghost story suspense and a smart, wary heroine you can’t help but root for. When Ronnie Mitchell inherits enough money to finally buy her dream home, she snaps up a dilapidated cliffside mansion sight unseen—only to discover it comes with a terrible legacy and a very possessive spirit.
That spirit is Venita Rost, a former silent film star who may look like a cat now, but still has claws—and a long memory. Venita’s fury radiates through the house, where she is eternally bound with her nemesis, Bartholomew Sloan, a ghost shackled by his own complicity. Their presence lingers not only in creaking floorboards and flickering lights, but also in eerie, unforgettable moments—like when a man named Hugh shows up at the back door to “work” on the house. Ronnie knows he’s not living. She also knows better than to pretend otherwise. The way Priest blends these surreal moments into the everyday is one of the book’s most magical and eerie strengths.
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