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Sometimes the best library finds are the ones you weren’t looking for. Over Labor Day weekend, I wandered the stacks of the Buffalo library and came across The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan.
I’ve read several of Sullivan’s novels before, and when I saw that this one was set in Maine, that was pretty much all I needed to check it out.
The Premise
The Cliffs follows Jane Flanagan, a Harvard archivist who finds herself back in her Maine hometown after both her career and marriage hit rocky ground.
While there, she reconnects with a long-abandoned Victorian house on the cliffs — a place she was drawn to as a teenager. The house has since been purchased (and heavily modernized) by a wealthy newcomer, Genevieve, who hires Jane to investigate the home’s history after suspecting it may be haunted.
As Jane digs into the archives, she unearths stories of women who lived in and around the house over centuries.
From the original owners in the 1800s to later generations, as well as Indigenous and Shaker communities, Sullivan weaves together a multi-layered history. Alongside these narratives, Jane confronts her own struggles with alcoholism, family trauma, and the complicated inheritance of the past.
What I Loved
- The history: I loved how Sullivan tied together generations of women, giving voice to those who might otherwise be forgotten. Each story added a new texture to the house’s haunting presence.
- The haunting (but not horror): While the book leans into ghostly themes, it never strays into being outright scary. Instead, it creates an atmosphere that’s eerie and thought-provoking, the kind of haunting that lingers because of memory and trauma rather than jump scares.
- The sense of place: Maine itself feels like a character here — the cliffs, the ocean, the isolation of small coastal towns. It gives the story both beauty and weight.
Themes That Stood Out
Sullivan explores heavy but resonant themes:
- The way history clings to place and influences the present.
- The cycles of alcoholism and generational trauma that shape families over time.
- The colonial impact on land and people, and how those stories still ripple centuries later.
- Most importantly, the act of recovering women’s stories from the shadows of history and letting their lives be remembered.
Final Thoughts
I found The Cliffs compelling and layered, the kind of novel that feels as much about research and memory as it is about family and personal reckoning.
It’s haunting, but not in a way that will keep you up at night — instead, it leaves you thinking about the weight of the past and the stories that live in the walls around us.
If you’re drawn to atmospheric fiction, family sagas, or stories that uncover hidden histories, this one is worth picking up.
And if you’re already a fan of J. Courtney Sullivan, you’ll appreciate how she balances rich detail with characters that feel real and deeply human.
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