About the Book
Title: The Bookshop of 99 Doors
Author: Jaime Jo Wright
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Released: April 7, 2026
Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense
The manor’s rumored one-hundredth door may conceal secrets hidden as deep as the estate’s bookshelves extend high . . . but the haunted past has a way of ensnaring curious souls.
In 1888, Minnie Tipton finds herself beset by the dark superstitions that envelop the Pennsylvania mansion her father bought. Convinced the vengeful spirit of a Civil War captain haunts the house and worried by her father’s rapidly worsening illness, Minnie delves into the home’s fraught past in an effort to bring him peace. Yet the lingering impact of the war and the gruesome tale of murder she uncovers only foster more fear and threaten to unravel Minnie’s own sanity.
In the present day, Triss Bellamy eagerly steps into the role of bookshop manager in the mansion-turned-museum boasting ninety-nine doors. But Triss’s dream job turns into a nightmare when havoc breaks loose with the arrival of her brother’s team of self-proclaimed paranormal investigators. Their determination to find a rumored one-hundredth door–a dangerous portal to the madness long said to plague the mansion–results in calamity, leaving Triss no choice but to hunt down the truth or watch her brother slip forever beyond her reach.
An atmospheric dual-time Gothic suspense masterfully penned by acclaimed author Jaime Jo Wright with themes of a Civil War-era ghost, a possible hidden door, and unexplained mysteries at a historic mansion’s bookshop with a troubled past.
Get your copy here!
About the Author
Jaime Jo Wright, multi award-winning author–including the Christy and Daphne du Maurier awards–is a coffee-fueled and cat-fancier extraordinaire. She has entwined her life with the legendary Captain Hook, residing serenely in Wisconsin’s rural woodlands. Her literary vocation involves penning chilling Gothic tales, a baffling change from that of Austenites, with a strong preference to the master of dark, Edgar Allan Poe. Two mischievous urchins adorn their family, who keep their mother on her toes – providing an exhilarating amount chaos.
Visit her at: http://www.jaimewrightbooks.com and listen to her podcast MadLit Musings on your favorite podcast player or at http://www.madlitmusings.com
My Impressions
“I learned to be afraid. That was the way of it. I thought Papa and I would create a new life with new memories. Instead, we entered a nightmare.”
Every sentence of The Bookshop of 99 Doors makes me feel more like I am creeping down a drafty, moldy, critter- infested staircase leading to a forbidden tunnel, unable to stop myself. Jaime Jo Wright is a master of creating spooky atmospheres, and her words suck me in, daring and enticing me to proceed with the story.
I enjoy trying to piece together the puzzles that Wright presents in this dual timeline ( because, to me, a dual timeline is like a puzzle, with the author feeding you a piece or two at a time). I have yet to figure out one of the total mysteries that Wright lays out, but it sure is intriguing to try! I was curious enough to check out her Pinterest boards for help in imagining the characters as she envisioned them.
In the historical story, Wright transports us to Ambrose Fields, PA in 1888. Spinster Minnie Tipton and her slightly deranged father move to an new home, a mansion that is purported to be haunted by Civil War-era ghosts. Minnie struggles to manage her father’s reputation and her standing as new mistress of the home. She also battles the rumors of a massacre and ghosts in the home, a secret 100th door, and a vagabond ne’er-do-well who begins hanging around. Who has the truth and who will tell it?
In the present day, Triss Bellamy has secured a new job as bookshop manager for the museum that was Ambrose Fields. He own phantoms from the past rise to pursue her when her brother, Casper, and his best friend, Beck Monroe, show up to film an episode of Haunted Frequencies. Strange things begin to happen. In the mansion and to Casper, team lead. The same rumors from over a century ago surface, and the race is on to find the 100th door. Will finding it bring closure to the eerie, frightening events and healing for Casper, or will its discovery unleash even more evil and chaos? And of course, how will the two storylines be woven together into one connected cord?
I wasn’t sure what to make of most of the the characters. Did each belong on the villain or the hero side? Often, I just couldn’t determine the truth. I loved that Dexter, whatever the truth about his survival was, exhorts Minnie to look for the truth. He urges her to turn to God. “…give Him your full attention. Because when you have nothing left…He is all you can rely on.”
What a great story, traversing from eerily spooky to nearly supernatural (not in good way) to faith and logic, showing God’s Power over events and hearts. And I love the great twists! I liked how Wright shows we don’t have to leave others behind in our pursuit of Truth, even though they may not be at the same stage we are. Probably my biggest takeaway from this story.
I received a copy of the book from publisher via Netgalley. I also bought my own pb copy for my “trophy shelf.” No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“A door is just an opening. It is what comes through the door that I don’t trust. Whether it goes inside or comes out. Whether spirit or real.” – Dexter
“ It’s the Door!… We need to close the door!! The 100th door!!” – Birdie
“…emotions could be wicked and unreliable. They doomed a person to shame, to assumptions larger than life, and to grief that overtook you. Emotions were not something to be followed or even believed. Emotions led one astray from the truth, from what was right and what was real. They betrayed you. They betrayed others. Just like Mama had betrayed Papa.” – (Minnie)
“…how one views God influences how they view those who have wronged them.” – Dexter
“Perhaps she was truly afraid of four things. The unknown, the unseen, the unexplainable, and the uncontrollable.”– (Minnie)
“If anyone knew anything about paranormal investigating, it was that spirits weren’t always friendly—and they weren’t always the spirits of the dead. Sometimes they were darker, more dangerous, and they could make people sick.” – (Triss)
“He’d have to choose between his life as he now lived it or follow her on her quest to find peace in someone greater. God. Not a god or all things being god, but the God. The Creator.” (Beck)
“If fear took human form, it would be a ghoulish creature.”- Victor Barringsworth, Esq.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Superior!! I love this book. Like almost all of Wright’s books, it delivers thrills and chills as it travels from eerily spooky to nearly supernatural (not in good way) to faith and logic, showing God’s Power over events and hearts! Bravo, Ms. Wright!
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 