The Haunted Purse
-
-
4.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $3.99
-
- $3.99
Publisher Description
That old denim purse Libby Dawson bought at the thrift store is no ordinary teenage tote. It's a bag of secrets, imbued with supernatural powers. Strange items keep turning up inside, clues to a decades-old mystery only Libby can solve.
Filled with apprehension and yet intrigued by the mounting pile of evidence, Libby digs for the truth. And eventually finds it. But the story of the purse is darker than she imagined—and its next horrific chapter is going to be all about her.
Customer Reviews
Exactly The Drama And Mystery I Needed
The cover of The Haunted Purse is old school, and despite the old adage of never judge a book by its cover, that’s actually what drew me to the ARC of the novel. I thought it was unique for something being published in 2025.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Baer’s latest paranormal young adult novel follows Libby after she purchases a denim purse from the local thrift store. Libby is 15, scrounges to get by, and is essentially abandoned by her mother to live on her own.
Exciting things don’t happen to her because she has made it her mission to keep a low profile so she can keep living on her own and get through high school. The second-hand purse she just picked up, however, has other ideas.
After the purse makes Libby’s homework, a prescription for her mother, and more disappear, and then begins making other objects, like a photograph of a girl from 20 years earlier, appear, Libby starts to believe in the power of the purse and begins to investigate for herself.
The purse brings Libby right into the middle of the case of a missing teenage girl from a small town nearby - from 20 years earlier.
If you are at all a fan of the paranormal, mysteries, or even detective shows/novels of any kind, you’ll likely be intrigued by this book - whether you’re in the young adult demographic or not. It hits a lot of the familiar investigative beats that cop shows, or more accurately, missing persons shows, do, but the haunted purse and Libby’s home life give the story a lot of heart that could otherwise be missing in the usual whodunnit.
The only reason I’m not giving The Haunted Purse five stars is my own personal preference when it comes to narrative style. The story is told from the first person perspective. That trend is growing in the world of romance and mystery novels, and it has never been my preference. I always find novels in the first person difficult to get through because I fee like someone is throwing a story at me instead of allowing me to enjoy it.
Credit has to go to Kimberly Baer for not making me feel that way once I got into the meat of the mystery though. I read this book at a time when one of my cats was very sick, and it provided a welcome distraction for me from the drama of my own life. The drama in Libby’s was just what I needed.