A haunting Southern Gothic about family secrets, fractured memory, and the uneasy inheritance of a troubled legacy.
In The House Uptown, Melissa Ginsburg crafts a lush, atmospheric novel set in post-Katrina New Orleans, where memory lingers like the humidity and old houses whisper of things long buried. When 14-year-old Ava arrives to live with her estranged grandmother Lane, she’s thrust into a world of fading grandeur, emotional distance, and long-held secrets.
 
Lane, once a famous artist now slipping into dementia, lives in a crumbling Uptown mansion surrounded by ghosts—some real, others remembered. As Ava pieces together the mystery of her mother’s death and Lane’s eccentric past, buried truths rise to the surface, threatening to undo what remains of the fragile household.
 
With lyrical prose and mounting tension, The House Uptown explores grief, guilt, and the ways women carry—and bury—their pain. 
 
💖 Why You’ll Love It
Lush, lyrical Southern setting with gothic undertones.
Deeply emotional story about loss, forgiveness, and family.
Evocative writing that blends literary fiction with mystery.
Perfect for fans of character-driven, atmospheric novels.
Melissa Ginsburg’s language is poetic, powerful, and haunting.
 
🌟 Perfect For
Fans of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter and The House Girl.
Readers who enjoy Southern literary fiction with emotional depth.
Book clubs exploring grief, legacy, and complex family ties.
Anyone drawn to atmospheric, reflective storytelling.
 
❤️ Fans Also Liked
If you enjoyed The House Uptown, you might also like:
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson — family secrets in the modern South.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett — tangled families and quiet revelations.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller — guilt, memory, and love.