A fast, strange psychological thriller about obsession, loneliness, and one unforgettable woman
Release date: October 13, 2026
Publisher: Podium
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis:
Everyone knows Junie Oldham is more than a little strange—but is she actually dangerous?
She’s unique, to say the least. Junie Oldham is a middle-aged hoarder who knits sweaters for cats, befriends rescued mice, and pretends to be a recovering alcoholic so she can socialize at AA meetings. Living among the piles of childhood treasures in the home she inherited, she also hangs on to a few resentments—not all of them innocuous.
When a chance encounter with Blake Patton, her high school crush, presents Junie with an opportunity to reconnect with the guy who helped set her on her solitary path, she’s ready to go to any length to become part of his life again. Blake doesn’t recognize the girl he mocked as “Old Ham” in high school, and his wife is delighted to find such a good math tutor for their daughter. Now Junie has full access to their perfect suburban home. She’s already hiding plenty of secrets of her own, but what’s hiding in the Patton household?
As the lies unravel and old scars resurface, the Pattons’ seemingly happy façade starts to crack open, and it’s only a matter of time before everything comes crashing down. Because Junie’s waited more than twenty years for the real story to come out, and if she can’t get to the truth, there’s going to be trouble . . .
From the Edgar Award–nominated author of On a Quiet Street, this hypnotic and razor-sharp psychological thriller about obsession, identity, and the cost of being overlooked is perfect for fans of Baby Reindeer, Gone Girl, and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.
Review:
Old Ham is short, fast paced, strange, disturbing, and incredibly easy to binge. And honestly? Junie Oldham is the reason this book works. She is one of the oddest characters I’ve read about in a while, and I could not look away.
Junie is lonely, obsessive, quirky, and clearly not quite right. Everything about her life is a little—or a lot—weird, from the way she lives to the ways she finds connection with other people. But there’s also something sad about her. She was bullied and overlooked for much of her life, and while that certainly doesn’t excuse everything she does, it gives her character enough vulnerability that I found myself feeling compassion for her even while being completely disturbed by her choices.
Things get especially wild when Junie reconnects with Blake, her high school crush and one of the people responsible for making her younger years miserable. The way Junie’s life begins colliding with Blake’s and Dessa’s is tense, uncomfortable, and increasingly unhinged. I kept trying to figure out exactly where everything was headed, and that uncertainty made this such a quick read.
This is definitely a character driven psychological thriller, and Junie is a character I won’t forget anytime soon. Strange, tense, compulsively readable, and just disturbing enough, Old Ham is a great pick when you want a thriller you can tear through in a sitting or two.
Perfect for readers who love:
- Unhinged and unpredictable female characters
- Short, bingeable psychological thrillers
- Quirky, deeply strange protagonists
- Obsession and long-held grudges
- Complicated and morally gray characters
- Suburban secrets and hidden lives
- Dark humor mixed with disturbing moments
- Tense stories that keep you guessing
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to The Pulse and the publisher for my review copy.
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