On Turpentine Lane

I’ll admit: I went into *On Turpentine Lane* expecting a light, frothy escape, and instead got a novel that’s as much about the quiet absurdities of adulthood as it is about haunted houses (and yes, there’s a literal ghost—maybe). Faith Frankel is the kind of protagonist I’d want to grab coffee with: prickly but self-aware, the sort of woman who buys a money pit of a house on impulse because it’s ‘the only one on the street with character,’ then spends the rest of the book grappling with the metaphor. Mia Barron’s narration is a standout—she *gets* Lipman’s dialogue, delivering lines like ‘My love life is a series of near-misses and misfires’ with the perfect blend of exhaustion and wit. The pacing, however, is where the audiobook stumbles slightly. The first act drags as Faith settles into her new/old life, and Lipman’s tendency to linger on suburban minutiae (the PTA, the neighbors, the *very* specific brand of New England passive-aggression) occasionally tests patience. That said, the payoff—Faith’s slow-burn romance with a local handyman, her fraught but loving relationship with her parents—feels earned, not saccharine. The ghost subplot, though underdeveloped, adds a delightful layer of quirk, like a dash of cayenne in an otherwise familiar dish. If you love audiobooks that balance humor and heart with a side of social commentary, this is a gem. Just don’t expect nonstop action—it’s a novel that rewards listeners who savor sharp writing and nuanced performances over plot fireworks.