Cook does a nice job of drawing readers into the tale, not horrifying them all at once. Mitt possesses a little precognitive power and can sometimes see things before they happen or sense when he's in danger.
Readers learn early in the story why the hospital is haunted, but dramatic irony is at play for more than a hundred pages as Mitt assembles the puzzle and unearths his family's buried secrets.
The denouement is jarring, but feels earned. Cook has told a tale that delivers a measure of justice for some patients, while preserving the dreadful mystique spelled out on top of the "decorative rusty wrought iron fence" at the southeastern corner of First Avenue and 30th Street.
'Bellevue' is out on Dec. 3, 2024, via G.P. Putnam's Sons.
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