Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker

Book Description

When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she’s truly been deceiving and hiding from all along―is herself.

Review

Sarah Pinsker’s Haunt Sweet Home is a quiet, clever novella that left me thinking more about family dynamics and the stories we build (both literally and metaphorically) than about ghosts. And I mean that in the best way!

This isn’t a spooky, hide-under-the-covers kind of ghost story. It’s softer. Introspective. In this novella, Pinsker gently peels back layers of grief, creative ambition, and complicated relationships, then drops them into a delightfully offbeat setting that satirizes home renovation shows.

The result? A haunting that’s more emotional than spectral.

What stood out most to me was how grounded this story felt. Despite its supernatural edges, it’s rooted in character and craft. I loved the way it hints at how art, memory, and generational tension can shape (and sometimes distort!) the places we call home.

Warning: if you’ve ever struggled to carve out your own identity while carrying the weight of family expectations, this novella may resonate.

Haunt Sweet Home reminded me a little of what I loved in Big Magic. Mara’s journey echoes the yearning many of us feel to make something meaningful.

The way the story points out the strange way inspiration shows up, even when we’re not expecting it, made me smile. For, who can’t use an occasional reminder of how creative acts connect us to something bigger than ourselves?

Haunt Sweet Home is not scary. It’s not fast. But it lingers—in the way any good ghost tale should. Readers who love books with cozy vibes can happily snuggle into this sweet story. It’s also a lovely reminder that stories don’t need to shout to leave an echo.

Content Warning

Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal Death, Anxiety, Death, Depression, Emotional abuse (implied), Fire, Ghosts, Grief, Haunting, Isolation, Loss, Mental health, Parental neglect, Substance use, Suicidal ideation (brief, not explicit), Toxic friendship, Trauma

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Ahmed on Unsplash