The Premonition at Withers Farm

A woman’s death dredges up memories of a serial killer who stalked Kilbourn, Mich., in the early 1900s in this hair-raising thriller from Wright (The Souls of Lost Lake). In 1910, 24-year-old Perliett Van Hilton joins a murder investigation after the town doctor, George Wasziak, asks her to help clean the body of Eunice Withers, a young woman who was stabbed to death. Then another young woman turns up dead, and after Perliett’s mother—who is a medium—contacts Eunice’s spirit, Perliett becomes convinced that she’s the killer’s next target. In the present day, Molly Wasziak’s husband finds the body of a young woman in a ditch weeks after they move onto the property where the Withers’ farm once stood. Molly is shocked when she discovers her new home’s connection to the unsolved “Cornfield Ripper” murders and fears that a new killer is on the prowl. Hearing mysterious noises and seeing ghosts, Molly is uncertain if her supernatural visions are real or the product of depression that’s plagued her since having multiple miscarriages. Molly and Perliett must protect themselves while reconciling their faith in God with the supernatural events they’ve witnessed. Wright excels at wringing the eeriness out of her premise and elegantly weaving the thoughtful meditations on what happens after death into the fast-paced murder mystery. This will delight Wright’s fans and earn her some new ones. (Oct.)