Japanese Gothic

2026: "Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. All he knows is that he has to go to his father’s home in Japan. But something is terribly wrong with the house...a woman with a sword appears in the yard at night."

1877: "Sen is a young samurai, her family hiding from imperial soldiers in exile. A monster came home from the rebellion wearing her father’s face, and Sen will do anything to please him. She knows the soldiers are coming when she sees a young foreign man outside her window."

Both Lee and Sen are unreliable narrators, students, and the products of absent mothers and distant, unloving fathers. Sen's mother is obedient and submissive to a fault. Sen must take the brunt of her father's wrath, a show more man who has raised her to be a weapon in an era where samurai are obsolete. His abuse and behavior are cowardly, but Sen cannot see the contradictions for what they are until she enters Lee's world. Without being explicitly named or diagnosed, Lee has all the symptoms of a sociopath. His search for his mother, who disappeared when he was twelve, has become an obsession. Like Sen, he is craving a parent's love that will never be provided. After years of suppressing his trauma with sedatives, oddly enough it's her "ghost" that lets him see things clearly for the first time.

All the hallmarks of a pure Gothic novel are here: a "haunted" house, moral ambiguity, psychological terror and an eerie loss of time. One characteristic that can't be named, which I am grateful for, is a forbidden romance. It would've made no sense, especially for Lee. Instead, a deeper, unexpected friendship develops. Lee's respective narrative is slow to develop through the first half, while Sen's develops too quickly. The dual timelines therefore sets up Lee as a rather petty, edgy teen in comparison to mature, but victimized Sen. He isn't by the end of course, and Sen is far from perfect, but the vivid historical setting, the evocative, violent dreams/visions and moving inner monologues couldn't make up for the pacing. It's certainly one that will haunt your imagination! show less

Bat Eater was one of my favorite new releases of 2025, so I’ve been looking forward to Japanese Gothic for ages. I can happily report that I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed it. (So much so that I stayed up until 4 AM to finish it).

Subject matter aside, Baker is genuinely a beautiful, lyrical writer. There are so many quotes in this book that I loved, and so much of the writing made me stop reading just to think about what was really being said.

I loved the combination of gothic elements, Japanese folklore, and the dual timelines. I’m not sure what I was expecting this story to be, but it was completely different, and I loved it.

I did see one of the twists at the end coming, but that didn’t take away from how much I liked show more the story. The ending made me sad and mad. show less

This horror novel is set during two times in rural Japan. In the present James Turner has quit NYU suddenly to go to Japan to live with his father and his father's girlfriend. He has been zoned out on sedatives for a long time, trying to escape his unhappiness and weirdness, and he believes that he has murdered his room-mate back in New York, although he doesn't know how or why. While trying to understand his own mindset and sort out his difficult relationship with his father, he encounters Sen from the 1870's who believes she and her father are the last Samurai in Japan. Sen and her family live in the same cabin inhabited by James in the present, and they share father problems as well as a preoccupation with truth, the concept of show more existence, and killing. This is not a feel-good story, but is interesting for the parallels with Japanese folklore and Samurai influence. show less

Lee Turner is on the run. He killed his college roommate and he has fled to his father’s home in Japan. But something is terribly wrong with this home! No animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

This is a tale that just gets better and better as you go along. You are a bit confused as it starts out, but stick with it. The author creatively brings this story together.

This is told in two different time periods. As expected, I enjoyed Sen’s time period of 1877 better than present day…but don’t worry. These two time periods come together with a bang! And you do not want to miss it.

I am trying real hard not to give anything away. But y’all! show more This book is bewitching and creepy all at the same time. Plus it is so atmospheric. I felt like I was right there in the pages with Lee and Sen. Now, I will say this is not as much of a horror book as I expected. It melds historical fiction, culture and intrigue all into one.

The narrator is absolutely fantastic! This is narrated by Natalie Naudus and she is excellent as Sen!

Need a unique tale that will keep you guessing…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. show less

Kylie Lee baker sets the tone and mood immediately in this book. There are two separate interwoven stories. The middle part of the text I found a bit difficult to follow just because of the nature of the mystery. The beginning and the end are excellent. The story is definitely a tale exposing the legacy of abuse. Powerful and very intense. It's not as good as Baker's previous books in my opinion, but it is still worth the read.

Slightly confusing ghost story about a guy who felt he murdered his college room mate so he ran away to Japan where his father just bought an old Samurai house. He was a troubled boy because his mother had gone missing when he was 12. So he thought he would escape the fact he murdered someone. But the house was haunted by the Samurai that lived there 100 years ago.