If I Stopped Haunting You

Enemies become first friends and then lovers in Wilkens’s uneven debut. Native American horror author Penelope Skinner’s dream is to represent Native populations in a culturally appropriate way in the genre she loves. So she’s none too happy with popular fellow Indigenous author Neil Storm when he perpetuates troublesome stereotypes in his latest blockbuster. In fact, she’s so incensed she has a very public meltdown. Four months later, thanks to the machinations of their mutual friend, Laszlo, they’re stuck together at a writing retreat in a Scottish castle that turns out to be haunted. The horror-tinged romance that follows moves at breakneck speed, careening between moments of laugh-out-loud humor and chilling encounters with the ghost of a young woman who died waiting for her love to return. The characters similarly move between extreme emotions at dizzying speeds with little room for nuance. The novel’s strength lies in its exploration of authorial intent and inequity in the publishing world, and in the spotlight it shines on Native characters, who remain underrepresented in romance. It’s not perfect, but readers who like their romances both spooky and meta will want to give it a chance. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Agency. (Oct.)