Veil: A novel by Jell Clulow

Veil: A novel

by Jeff Clulow

Release Date: August 1st, 2025

2025 Third Eye Press

Ebook ARC; 263 Pages

ISBN: 978-1764139700

ASIN: B0FJF4TL7D

Genre: Fiction / Gothic

Source: Review copy from author

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

An old house filled with riddles.
A young woman unable to laugh, unable to cry.
Now, through her dead mother’s wedding veil she will see the house not as it is, but as it once was.
She will glimpse the events of a day nearly thirty years before.
A day of obsession and cruelty.
A day of hope too, where a lost lover hides in the shadows.
Through the veil, she may come face-to-face with her family’s darkest secret.
She might learn the reason for her mother’s insanity.
She may even find a way back to her lost emotions.
And solve the mystery of her own past.

 

 

My Thoughts

Veil was not a traditional ghost story in the same way of other traditional ghost stories, but it was still haunting and atmospheric. It was more of a generational haunting story and how what happens to family members can have a huge effect on those in the current generation, almost floating on the boundaries of generational trauma. I really enjoyed the Gothic atmosphere of this story as well as the setting; the themes running through this book would make some great discussion points.

 

Suze discovers she has inherited a house from her mother, a woman she had never met nor known anything about. As someone who was floundering through life trying to find a purpose, this came as a shock as she had spent years trying to find out anything about her mother who gave her up for adoption, but she was determined to discover whatever she could. And that is one of the things I loved about Suze as a MC, her determination. Growing up in the foster care system, she had learned to hide her feelings and emotions at a very young age, so Suze's character development was immense as she learned to feel and to sympathize with what happened to her mother as she discovered secrets about her family she was not expecting. I thoroughly loved her determination and her willingness to give things a shot even when it was extremely difficult to do so. She had a lot to learn, but was willing to put in the work and do so.

 

The story itself wasn't overly unique, and it was a bit predictable, but I definitely enjoyed the journey. The addition of the veil to the story was fun and I wish the author had done a bit more with that aspect of the story as I felt it was underutilized. What ended up happening was more of a showing us what happened to Suze's mother rather than allowing the reader to discover it and I felt a bit let down by how that happened. I do want to make it clear though, the writing was still strong and I still enjoyed it, but a part of me was a bit disappointed to just be along for the journey rather than trying to figure it out as Suze discovered it. And it was not hard to figure out what was going on although it was still quite tragic.   

 

Verdict

Veil had an interesting mix of gothic tropes in the story, but the inclusion of the veil was unique and I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit. There was also another aspect that I thought was clever as it mirrored Suze's mother's trauma and would make a great discussion point, but I don't want to give spoilers in this review.  I liked the oppressive nature of the house, but have to say I loved the conclusion and what will happen even more.  While the delivery didn't quite work all of the time, and I wished the Gothic aspects had been used a bit more to push the level of tension (which was quite lacking for me), this was still an enjoyable read and I do recommend it to anyone who likes these types of books.