The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery

For months I’ve been anticipating Clarence A. Haynes’s adult debut, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery. This is one of those books that plays like a movie, with high action and plenty of other-worldly intrigue to hold your interest from start to finish.

Set in present-day New York City, it follows Gwendolyn, an overworked but effective publicist, as a series of strange events start happening around her. Is her team getting hacked? Is it… a haunting? She’ll have to team up with her estranged cousin, Fonsi, to uncover what’s going on. Through their respective powers of communicating with ghosts, it’s up to them to save the city.

What I Liked:

• Ghosts and hauntings and brujas! I love how this book weaves in the supernatural (I enjoy anything with ghosts in it) with Latine folklore surrounding witchcraft and spiritualism. Fonsi and Gwendolyn have roots in Panama and are part of a secret guild of people with ghostly powers. Fonsi offers his services as a medium; Gwendolyn has hidden that side of herself, even going so far as to change her name. But as the story progresses, the ghostly presence only grows stronger, more magical, and more horrifying.
• Past coming back to haunt Gwendolyn (literally). Gwendolyn has a lot of secrets, and they’re catching up with her. She’ll need to return to her authentic self to put things to right.
• Their personal arcs. Amidst all this ghostly action, both Fonsi and Gwendolyn are going through their own lives. Fonsi’s getting over his cheating ex-boyfriend… by getting it on with a ghost. Gwendolyn has a new beau in her life, but is she ready to let him in and open up all the way? I appreciated the moments of connection, vulnerability, and honesty that each of the main characters must reach.
• The epilogue! That cliff-hanger has me hoping there will be a sequel to this soon!

Audiobook:

Brittany Bradford and André Santana act as Gwendolyn and Fonsi, respectively. I loved both of their narrations; they do a marvelous job of highlighting the characters’ personalities. Gwendolyn is serious and closed off, but pays attention to the nuances. Fonsi is going through a rough time, and his emotions come out fully. This is an wonderfully done audiobook!

Final Thoughts

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a really quick read that feels written for the silver screen. It’s spooky, magical, and high-energy with the perfect balance of folklore and culture. I had a hard time comparing it to other books I’ve read; it’s actually more similar to movies I’ve seen. If you enjoy a cinematic and fast-paced novel full of ghosts, this is an ideal read. And hopefully there will be a sequel out soon, too.

Special thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes
Audiobook Narrators	Brittany Bradford; André Santana
Audience	Adult
Genre	Urban Fantasy
Setting	New York City; Panama
Number of Pages	240
Format I Read	Audiobook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	June 17, 2025
Publisher	Legacy Lit

Official Summary

In a fast-paced, sexy, ghostly adventure, a publicist at the top of her game must confront her secret mystical past.

To be a client of Gwendolyn Montgomery—New York’s most powerful publicist, at Sublime Creative—is to be infused with a certain oomph, a mysterious glamour. She seems to have created the ideal life with her handsome new boyfriend, the perfect match. But Gwendolyn has a legion of long-buried secrets that could unravel everything.

After a grisly, bizarre incident at the Brooklyn Museum, Gwendolyn begins to realize that something nefarious is happening tied directly to her past, right as Fonsi Harewood comes back into her world. Fonsi is a queer Latinx psychic from the South Bronx who’s caught up in a love triangle with a ghost and his mortal ex. He’s able to communicate with the dead, and he comes with a dire warning for Gwendolyn, that the barrier between humans and spirits is weakening.

Gwendolyn would prefer not to have anything to do with ghostly drama. Yet in order to get to the bottom of the spookiness derailing her life and threatening the world, she must face the demons she’d long left behind. The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a sensuous, funny, mystical adventure that will leave you spellbound as you keep the pages turning.