"Summer in the House of the Departed is a golden-edged tale of the bond between a boy, his eccentric grandmother, and her ghost-filled old home. Rountree gives us the type of story we've come to expect from him: rich, poignant, and delightfully bittersweet. I loved it."

- Chris Panatier, author of The Redemption of Morgan Bright

Summer in the House of the Departed is a luminous journey into the delicate boundary between life and death. With prose that sings and a narrative that lingers like a half-remembered dream, Josh Rountree crafts a world where the supernatural is not merely a backdrop but a living, breathing presence. A meditation on memory, loss, and a yearning for connection, Rountree invites readers to walk alongside ghosts who are as vivid and complex as the living.

-Christopher Barzak, author of the Shirley Jackson Award nominated A Voice Calling

"Reading Summer in the House of the Departed feels like standing outside in the hot August rain and then going inside with a chill in your bones. The characters here (the living and the dead) feel so vividly alive, especially the Southern ghost-hunting grandma and her bookish-and-brave grandson. A wise and compelling story of the literary Weird."

- Ivy Grimes, author of Glass Stories

"I never pass up an opportunity to read Josh Rountree, who does western melancholic horror better than anyone I can think of. Summer in the House of the Departed is a gentle West Texas ghost story as much about the wonder of childhood as it is about all of its inalterable, traumatic disruptions. A unique novella with late-in-life characters embracing paranormal mysteries and reflecting on the otherwordly legacies we leave in our wake. For stories that are contemplative, but told with an eye toward the strange and the different, Rountree is the guy you want."

- Thomas Ha, author of Uncertain Sons and Other Stories

"Two bleakly beautiful views of the approach to death, in a past and a present that feel incredibly well-worn and lived-in. A comfortable place to leave a little piece of your soul in between the pages." - Aimee Ogden, author of Starstruck

"The quiet horror of loss, caught in a beautifully written summer of ghosts."

- Hailey Piper

"A beautiful reflection on life, death, and happenings beyond our understanding,