The Ghost Woods

Yesterday the U.S. finally got to see the release of C. J. Cooke‘s novel, The Ghost Woods. It originally came out in 2022, the final in a trio of books she wrote surrounding themes of motherhood (the other two being The Nesting and The Lighthouse Witches). This Gothic novel follows two timelines, Mabel in 1959 and Pearl in 1965, as both find themselves at Lichen Hall to deliver their illegitimate babies and put them up for adoption. But not all is as it seems in this isolated Scottish mansion, and the haunting forest surrounding them is only the beginning of all that is wrong at Lichen Hall.

Why I Chose This Book:

I’ve enjoyed two of C. J. Cooke’s books so far, and I’ve been excited to read more from her. The Ghost Woods looked like exactly the kind of novel I enjoy: a creepy, isolated setting; a strange family; a mystery sliding into horror as more is discovered. It also deals with motherhood, which is another thing I’m drawn to especially now that I have a child.

What I Liked:

• Spooky setting. Lichen Hall is far removed from society, set on a land long thought to be haunted and surrounded by a forest known as the ghost woods. Even the house is falling into ruin; the whole east wing is overrun by toxic mold and fungi. Isolation, being surrounding by something dangerous, and even a home that is far from welcoming… it all adds up to a very unsettling environment that our main characters are trapped in. The Whitlocks, who own the place, are increasingly odd in their own right, too.
• Themes of decay and growth. A major theme throughout the novel is the strange capabilities of fungi. A variety of mushrooms grow in and around Lichen Hall, and Mr. Whitlock devoted much of his life to studying them. The fungi add to the danger and disgust, more so as the novel progresses. Also I have to say: I really hate mushrooms lol.
• Motherhood in its many forms. The characters here are unmarried pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s a time when being a single mother was not an option. Being pregnant out of wedlock meant being fired from your job and potentially ostracized from your family. Raising a child alone would be virtually impossible. So these women must give up their babies for adoption. But in the shadow of these circumstances, questions arise about who a mother is. What are the myriad ways that motherhood can look? How can several women be a mother figure to a child?
• Women relationships. Speaking of that last point, the women at Lichen Hall form a sort of sisterhood, working together to survive and to raise a child. There are also a few pairs of women in romantic relationships—again, at a time when queerness wasn’t widely accepted by society.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• The eye. IYKYK.

Final Thoughts

The Ghost Woods is another winning novel from C. J. Cooke. It highlights her skill in crafting a Gothic story that is absorbing and infused with folklore, darkness, and a sense of community and family. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to the author’s next book, The Last Witch, due out this October.

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Ghost Woods here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke
Audience	Adult
Genre	Horror
Setting	Scotland
Number of Pages	384
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	April 29, 2025 (US)
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

A young woman sent to stay in a crumbling gothic manor will find haunting secrets creeping out of the surrounding dark woods in this new, chilling novel from the acclaimed author of The Lighthouse Witches.

In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall. This place is shrouded in folklore—old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child.

Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something. Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live on the grounds—and together they begin to unpack the secrets of this place. As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew—and risk what she holds most dear.