Book Review: The Invisible World by Nora Fussner

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

With its intriguing premise, Gothic vibes, the behind-the-scenes look at reality television and the paranormal mystery The Invisible World by Nora Fussner is an interesting read.

As the novel begins, we follow the crew of a paranormal television show “Searching for . . . the Invisible World” to Ninebark, Pennsylvania, where they will be filming a part of their latest season. Aspiring artist Eve Hawthorne-Malone and her husband Ryan’s new home, which they suspect is haunted after a spate of eerie occurrences. Sandra, the producer of the show, has a predefined approach to filming and presenting the show- a fact that Eve is unaware of and thus is a tad disillusioned when her efforts to share her thoughts and past experiences, which she feels might be connected to present events aren’t met with the level of interest she had anticipated. Her husband Ryan also believes he can manipulate the creators of the show in his own way. What the producers, the crew and the investigators weren’t prepared for were strange occurrences they experienced while filming, including the disappearance of one of their own. The narrative follows these characters through the paranormal investigation behind the events.

The narrative is presented through transcripts of interviews of their hosts and details of the investigations conducted by Paranormal Investigators of Pennsylvania (PIP)- a ghost hunting operation with whom the production company collaborates including séance sessions with a local psychic- throughout spanning five days and nights the crew spent onsite. The author seamlessly weaves several sub-plots into the narrative and draws you in and keeps you invested in the plot as it is gradually unraveled. Eve’s personal journey is deeply embedded into the narrative of the plot. There are several characters to keep track of and a lot of drama going on behind the scenes.

There is a lot to like about this debut novel. The narrative does suffer from minor repetition, but that does detract from the overall reading experience. However, I found it difficult to connect with any of the main characters and the personal drama often overshadowed the paranormal mystery at the core of this novel. I also felt that certain aspects of the plot were left unexplained, resulting in a somewhat ambiguous ending.

Many thanks to Vintage Anchor for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.