Paper Ghosts: A Novel Hardcover – September 1, 2026

The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Other Birds hailed as "whimsical, wise, and delightfully mysterious." (Real Simple)Every family has its secrets...The Wester women live inside theirs.For generations, Wester House has stood as a monument to influence and mystery in a small North Carolina town, and the Wester women have held the community enthralled. People respect them, many fear them, but no one truly understands them. How do they possess such an intimate, unsettling knowledge of those around them? Why is no one ever allowed inside the house? And why is Willamena Wester finally reaching out to the granddaughter she once pushed away?The Westers have always balanced their need for control with their desire for love, but when that balance is off, disaster happens. To truly understand, you have to meet Willamena fifty years ago. As a young woman trapped in a stifling, picture-perfect life, she gives her heart away and makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.Now Willamena's granddaughter, Bailey, is coming back to a town she tried to outrun, only to realize that the grandmother she feared was actually her fiercest protector. In a world of hidden truths, can a legacy of unhappiness be unmade? And what does it take to finally break a curse? Bailey is about to learn that even the oldest hauntings can be healed by a new spark of hope.Sarah Addison Allen's stunning prose will transport you to a place where magic mixes with the mundane, turning shadows into the most beautiful kind of light. Read more