Foreclosure Gothic

A struggling actor returns to Upstate New York to renovate a house and raise a family in Lahti’s lyrical and eerie debut. Raised by a workaholic father who renovated foreclosed homes, Vic Greener fled the “cultureless” region to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. His years of frustration have yielded a toothpaste commercial, a soap opera stint, and a romance with fellow actor Heather Roswell. The pair marry after a “surprise pregnancy” and Vic purchases a foreclosed property near his hometown, eager to flip it so they can use the money to move back west. But as time goes on and their son, Junior, starts preschool, Vic continues tinkering on the house and grows attached to it, despite being unnerved by his discovery of two gravestones in the basement. He purchases more properties, operating some as rentals and planning to flip others, still hoping to raise enough cash for their dream home in California. Lahti introduces sinister details—Junior claims to know about the bodies, which were buried on the property in the early 19th century; one of their tenants tramps menacingly through the garden—but they’re never fully explored or incorporated into the plot. Still, the prose is subtly alluring, such as the author’s description of nature as “a witch’s brew of mistrust.” This sly and creepy drama is worth a look. (June)