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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Soul Umbra by Juliet Rose follows Esme, who deeply believes that being close to her brings harm to others. From early childhood, people around her are injured, die, or disappear, and she becomes convinced that unseen figures attached to her life are responsible. When a school incident leaves another child dead, and Esme is blamed, she is removed from ordinary society and learns to survive under supervision and control. Adulthood offers her a brief chance at a different life through work, marriage, and motherhood, but closeness again coincides with danger. Faced with the possibility that her presence endangers those she loves, Esme must make a defining choice that shapes the rest of her life. But first, she must grasp a definitive explanation of who, or what, the figures are that have always haunted her.
Soul Umbra by Juliet Rose is a spectacular example of the balancing act between paranormal influence and mental health. Rose deftly manages the ambiguity of both, leaving readers with a running question of what is real. I love how dissociation, psychosis, and long-term psychiatric confinement shape how Esme is perceived and treated. The figures that Rose introduces are incredible. In childhood, Gogo appears as a boy of Esme’s age who physically guides her through woods and fields, with an eerie connection. In adolescence, the Tall Man arrives as an unnaturally large, gangly night figure, motionless, silent, and looming, changing how fear enters Esme’s body. Lamia is my favorite: a forceful woman who speaks aloud, touches, and intervenes in domestic acts. Overall, this is a brilliant psychological thriller. Very highly recommended.
