Title: The Dead Room
Author: Catriona McPherson
Publication Date: May 1, 2026
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Format Read: Kindle e-ARC
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
A few years ago I read and really enjoyed Strangers at the Gate, so when I saw Catriona McPherson had another book available for review on NetGalley, I was all over it. This one hit quite a bit differently, though I know I’ve grown as a reader since then too.
Lindsay Hale, née Lord, is an audiobook narrator who has returned home to the Edinburgh area after her husband dies young from brain cancer. Shortly after arriving, she meets and befriends a kindly elderly woman, only for the woman to disappear overnight, with Lindsay seemingly the only person concerned. As she tries to figure out what happened, things around her become increasingly strange. She recognizes people she’s never met and forgets those she has, mishears conversations, suffers vivid nightmares, and begins recalling difficult memories from childhood.
This was a fever dream of a novel. I didn’t fully grasp what was happening until Lindsay did, though the clues are there, and I could sense some of the shape of it before the final reveal. I found myself knowing I should go to bed at midnight, then staying up to finish because I couldn’t quite see how all the puzzle pieces were going to connect.
Lindsay herself was about 75% compelling and 25% unbelievably naive for me. Her grief absolutely shows through. She’s lived through the sadness, the anger, the long stretch of preparing, the acceptance, and the way all of it keeps cycling back around. At the same time, she’s hearing and seeing things that make her suspicious of those around her and, instead of trusting herself at all, keeps choosing to believe what they tell her. There were multiple points where my only thought was: Gaslight City.
The story is told mostly in the first person through Lindsay, which keeps the reader close to her thought process and makes her easier to connect with, even when she can be frustrating. There are also shorter first-person chapters from another narrator who is clearly in a difficult situation, along with scattered property listing adverts. The latter added some flavor, but they didn’t contribute much to the story for me.
McPherson’s writing is immersive, grief-soaked, and quietly sinister, blending sharp psychological insight with a slow-building, foggy unease that kept both Lindsay and me off balance. The prose is accessible while still feeling deliberate and evocative. The psychological aspect is especially slippery, blurring memory, trauma, and paranoia so the reader is never fully sure what to trust. And while grief is one of the book’s central components, McPherson threads in a dry edge of wit here and there, which keeps the story from feeling relentlessly heavy even as the tension mounts.
I definitely enjoyed reading The Dead Room, even if there were moments where I could practically feel my brows knitting together while I muttered, “Whaaaaat?” I’d most liken this one to Ruth Ware, particularly The Death of Mrs. Westaway. This is a book that asks for patience. It does all come together, but readers need to stick with it long enough to see the full picture.
Nerd Rating: 🤓🤓🤓— a foggy, grief-soaked fever dream
Let’s Discuss:
How long would you trust other people’s explanations over your own instincts if you started noticing things that didn’t add up?
Click here to find out more about The Dead Room and Catriona McPherson.
I read a digital copy made available by Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley, and this review reflects my honest opinion.