City of Ghosts

Following a whirlwind romance, Isabel Grady has moved halfway around the world with her new husband. Far from her apartment in New York City, Isabel finds herself living at the top of an ancient, vine-covered palace. The colors of Nepal are brighter than those at home. The smells are more intense. The sounds are dizzying. The dense heat of the tropical summer gives way each afternoon to torrential rains. Overwhelmed by the strangeness of the city but mesmerized as well, Isabel thrills to her new life even as it throws her off balance.

"With her first novel, so elegantly crafted, Johanna Stoberock takes her readers on a globe-spanning journey through grief, love, friendship, jealousy, and betrayal to genuine self-discovery. When she lyrically evokes the experience of living in Nepal, its spirit of place, timeless beauty, and people are almost tangible on the page. All by itself, her finale is worth the price of admission. City of Ghosts is a stunning and memorable debut." Charles Johnson, author of Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award

"City of Ghosts" is brilliantly vivid, beautifully patterned, and extremely suspenseful. It's a substantial book on a substantial theme--nothing less than the attempt to ameliorate grief. An impressive first novel." David Shields, author of Reality Hunger

"Johanna Stoberock's City of Ghosts takes us deep into unfamiliar territory and then brings us back sadder but wiser." Robert Hellenga, author of The Sixteen Pleasures

“Stoberock writes extremely well; her descriptions of Nepal are as elegantly crafted as her psychological portraits.” Washington Post

In her first novel, Stoberock combines a powerful, if ethereal, sense of place with an insightful portrayal of the dynamics of friendship....This is a novel that will get under your skin, with its very contemporary take on tumultuous relationships and its vivid depiction of beautiful Nepal." Booklist