Title: The Haunting of Sorrow’s Leap

Author: Chris Sorensen

Release date: November 28th, 2025

Over the last number of years, I’ve devoured everything Sorensen has released – be it his wonderfully dark Messy Man series, to his two creature features, ‘Suckerville’ and ‘Bee Tornado’ – both of which you need to absolutely read!

 Sometime in early 2025 – I can’t remember when – Chris reached out to me about beta reading his next novel. Unfortunately, I was swamped and couldn’t give it the time it would need. When the book was announced, I made sure to buy the Kindle edition, excited to dive in. *I will add here – unbeknownst to me, Chris actually sent me a physical copy of the book! So very kind and unexpected!* 

Funnily, at least to this reader, I didn’t make any connections between this and the Messy Man series. But sure enough, upon cracking this bad boy open, there was Ellen Marx. Now, I will say – you can ABSOLUTELY read this without having read the Messy Man trilogy. In fact, I’d almost suggest if you read this one first, you’ll get a deeper experience if you pivoted and then read Messy Man, but either way, you’re in for a treat.

What I liked: The story picks up years after the end of the events in the Messy Man series. Ellen’s ‘gift’ has faded, her ability to see dead people and connect through touch with people diminished to the point where she questions if it ever was really much of a gift. She’s hawking product at a horror convention, selling candles and pictures and crystals and trinkets. It’s here where she has an odd encounter with a girl named Zivy, and from there, herself, Zivy and two other ‘gifted’ individuals are selected. 

Their reward? To travel to a reclusive authors mansion. Why? They don’t find out until they arrive. And once there, they learn that they’ve been invited to try and un-haunt the mansion. Renovations have been hampered because ghosts and spooks are terrifying the workers, and James Utter, the author, is sick of the delays.

Sorensen weaves a multi-layered tale where things are never really as they seem and as we get more details from Utter’s right-hand-man Carter, we learn that there are off-limits areas. Then, an event happens, a gathering of shadows of sorts, which really opens up the story and gets those others chosen – JJ and Quan joining Ellen and Zivy – working as a team.

I’ll add – on their way to Utter Hall, Ellen purchased ‘Sorrow’s Leap,’ one of Utter’s last big bestsellers from a roadside convenience store. This comes into play in a number of ways, both with an world on the other side they need to deal with, but also with some nifty elements that I can’t share due to spoilers. But it gave it a really solid aspect of over here/over there that felt very 80’s-esque, but in the best way possible.

The lead up to and the finale itself were a lot of fun, with the group figuring out how to use their gifts as chess pieces, becoming moving pieces themselves to try and triumph over the ghost who has taken up residence in Utter Hall.

What I didn’t like: This actually relates back to the Messy Man series, but Ellen and her mom’s relationship morphed here. Whereas in the Messy Man series we dealt with Ellen’s mom’s horrendous behavior and narcissist ways, here it became an odd toxic reimagining where Ellen somehow appears to be the bad guy at times with how she treated her mom in key moments at the end of her mom’s life, while we know – and even see within the pages of this book – that her mom was a horrible, horrible person and treated her daughter with nothing but abuse.

Secondly, I found there was too many attempts at levity and humor within, especially when the ghosts arrive and things take a sinister turn. Every time something serious would begin to unfold, I’d expect a one-liner or set up for a joke to occur and it would. It was as though Paul Rudd was casted to be the comic relief. I could’ve handled far less of that – but I’m also a reader who doesn’t typically enjoy humor in his horror.

Why you should buy this: Overall, this haunted mansion tale was a ton of fun and another solid story from Sorensen, who has a knack of creating quickly relatable characters and dark, dark worlds. 

‘The Haunting of Sorrow’s Leap’ was a tense, fast-paced story that forced quirky, socially awkward characters to work together and overcome huge obstacles and that’s always something that makes for an entertaining read.