Also by this author: The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus, The Premonition at Withers Farm, The Premonition at Withers Farm, The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater, The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater, Night Falls on Predicament Avenue
Published by Bethany House on October 21, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Mystery, Suspense
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An abandoned estate encased in stagnant darkness . . .
A haunting legacy intent on silencing all within reach . . .In 1890, the ominous tolling of the bell announces that death has come to Traeger Hall, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her uncle's and aunt's murders. Bound by the terms of her uncle's eccentric will, Waverly finds herself alone in a manor shrouded by death and questioning the reasons for her uncle's paranoia. A madness hovers over Traeger Hall, and Waverly--as well as the people of nearby Newton Creek--are ill-prepared for the woe that has descended.
In present day Newton Creek, whispers of a family curse still cling to the century-old, abandoned property of Traeger Hall. When Jennie Phillips takes possession of the estate after her mother's passing, she is intent on solving the mystery of the Traeger murders. Yet a modern cold case suggests that untimely deaths and mysterious occurrences still plague the property. And as thorny truths surface, Jennie realizes the dark legacy threatens not only the town and the Traeger descendants . . . but also, chillingly, Jennie herself.
I’m going to do something strange and begin with a quasi-criticism of a Jaime Jo Wright novel. Bear with me and you can determine for yourself how valid it is or if it’s something you’d actually prefer from an author. Whenever I read a Jaime Jo Wright novel, I know pretty much what I’m going to get: a split-time narrative, generational family drama (and trauma), the eeriest most haunting setting you’ve ever seen, and hints of the paranormal/supernatural that always have human explanations. Those elements are Wright’s strengths and—especially once she began publishing more than one full-length novel per year—I began to notice the repeated elements.
And this could be a criticism…or it could be perfect that twice a year, readers get to engage with a favorite author who writes their favorite type of stories with their favorite story elements, leaving an aura of mystery while having enough familiarity to make that mystery soothing. This is something that makes things simultaneously more difficult and somewhat easier for an author. Easier because they already have some major themes and story beats mapped for them. More difficult because they have to take this collection of similar things and craft them into something sufficiently new.
That is where Jaime Jo Wright’s genius actually lies. It doesn’t matter how many of her books I have read (which is most of them) or how quickly I read them in succession (a few years ago I went on a one-month audiobook binge through her backlist), their similarities don’t get stale. I still find myself eager turning each page, wanting more, and anticipating the next release (which, I think there’s like five JJW books releasing in 2026).
But this review is now becoming more of a review of the author rather than her book, so let’s turn to The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall. Told in two timelines, Wright regales readers with the story of a wealthy eccentric terrified that he would be murdered having the obvious and inevitable occur. Waverly Pembrooke is left to solve her uncle and aunt’s murders and soon finds that her uncle’s paranoia may have been justified.
One hundred and thirty years later, Jennie Phillips rather surprisingly inherits the old, abandoned, walled-up Traeger Hall—the former home of said wealthy murdered eccentric. Phillips is placed into the middle of a family and local history that is completely foreign to her—and small towns don’t always cotton to outsiders. When evidence of a different, years-old murder is uncovered, it becomes obvious that Traeger Hall holds secrets—secrets that have been desperately hidden down the generations.
I don’t know what else to say about this is other than that it is classic Jaime Jo Wright. She has mastered dual-timeline storytelling, knows exactly what information to give and what to withhold, and paces each of the timelines and their mysteries perfectly to provide an undulating wave that rises to a crashing crescendo. The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall is full of intrigue, drama, and mystery—no matter how familiar Wright makes her stories or storytelling, she still manages to surprise.