The Door in Penrose Forest by Sean David Robinson
Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026Crooked Lane Books
Hardciver. 336 pages.
About The Door in Penrose Forest:
"A man returns to his strange hometown twenty years after his mother climbed a staircase in the wilderness and disappeared in this speculative mystery where We Used to Live Here meets The Midnight Library.
As a boy, Nico once accompanied his mother on a research trip to investigate a stalled migration of monarch butterflies. One night, upon hearing her sneak out of their rented cabin, he followed her to a clearing in the forest where a famed mansion once stood. Paralyzed with fear, he watched his mother climb a staircase and vanish, along with the stairs and the strange glowing door at its peak. No one believed his story, and as he grew older, he too stopped believing it was real.
As an adult, Nico returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father. But something strange is happening to the town. There are unexplained power fluctuations, people are going missing, and, reportedly, phantoms are roaming the woods. When Nico finds his mother’s field journal from the week she disappeared, including her account of the vanishing staircase, he begins to pick apart the mystery.
All the tangled strings trail back to the same starting point: the Gilded Age family whose mansion burned down under mysterious circumstances in those very same woods where his mother vanished.
Equally a compelling mystery and a moving story of family and destiny, this speculative novel will spellbind readers of Emily St. John Mandel and Susanna Clarke."
As a boy, Nico once accompanied his mother on a research trip to investigate a stalled migration of monarch butterflies. One night, upon hearing her sneak out of their rented cabin, he followed her to a clearing in the forest where a famed mansion once stood. Paralyzed with fear, he watched his mother climb a staircase and vanish, along with the stairs and the strange glowing door at its peak. No one believed his story, and as he grew older, he too stopped believing it was real.
As an adult, Nico returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father. But something strange is happening to the town. There are unexplained power fluctuations, people are going missing, and, reportedly, phantoms are roaming the woods. When Nico finds his mother’s field journal from the week she disappeared, including her account of the vanishing staircase, he begins to pick apart the mystery.
All the tangled strings trail back to the same starting point: the Gilded Age family whose mansion burned down under mysterious circumstances in those very same woods where his mother vanished.
Equally a compelling mystery and a moving story of family and destiny, this speculative novel will spellbind readers of Emily St. John Mandel and Susanna Clarke."
I didn't have particularly strong expectations for The Door in Penrose Forest going into it--largely because I'm just not overly familiar with the author and hadn't seen this book mentioned too much at the time--so I ended up being quite happy to enjoy this one as much as I did. I really tend to enjoy books that explore different realities and dimensions, and all I'll say is that I loved that this book really played with that idea in some really fascinating ways that I didn't expect and that I think a lot of other readers who like those topics will enjoy exploring, as well. And before getting into this review, I just have to say that despite the fact that this book also features a mysterious random staircase in a forest, it does not really have many further similarities to Chuck Wendig's The Staircase in the Woods, but I do love the idea of playing with this concept so I was more than happy to read another book with this idea.
We begin our story following Nico Calloway who is currently journeying back to his hometown due to his father's deteriorating health. His mother disappeared when he was a child while the family of three was on a research trip for her to study some monarch butterflies. Returning home for Nico is difficult, as he's confronted with the early memories of losing his mother, losing his first love, and simply dealing with looking at a life left behind that has many painful memories. While staying at his father's house, Nico discovers his mother's field journals that include her journal entries from the duration of their trip back in 1997 until her disappearance, and it is these journals that give Nico the first glimmer of hope and intrigue about his missing mother in many years--and of course, this is really where our story begins.
The story is told through three main POVs, and this ended up working well for this story's format. We primarily follow Nico's POV, but we also follow a man from the past named Wilfred, who becomes the valet of a character that is quite important to this story, as well as the perspective of Nico's mother as we read through her journals. The latter is the smallest portion of the three, but that certainly does not mean it is lacking in keeping readers engaged, as reading her experiences was definitely page-turning. I found the historical portions involving Wilfred enjoyable, though I found them slightly inconsistent in how engaging they were for me. It always felt like a pretty significant jump from Nico's perspective to Wilfred's, and it was often when I quite engrossed in Nico's story so it made it a bit harder to shift my mind. But fortunately, there were quite a lot of interesting things happening in Wilfred's that helped capture my attention soon enough. Overall, I'm glad that Wilfred's sections didn't occupy more of the narrative than they did, though if they had expanded upon some areas I wouldn't have minded that.
The Door in Penrose Forest is definitely a slower build-up of a story, but it's not a boring one. There's a strong sense of mystery and intrigue from the very beginning, even a sense of slightly haunting and uncertainty. I found the first portion of this book especially eerie, with some strong hints of something uncanny going on that we, as readers, really have no way to predict or expect. I'm a little torn on whether or not I think that the rest of the story really delivered on matching this tone, as there were parts that felt just as intriguing as the start, but other parts that felt like they mellowed out slightly and left me wanting just a little something more than what was delivered. Even so, I very much enjoyed discovering what was happening alongside Nico, and I was captivated by the directions the author took and the ideas he played with throughout. The story has a rather dreamily haunted atmosphere to it (I have no idea how else to describe this, so I hope my meaning is conveyed well enough) that makes it feel a little bit like reading déjà vu, but also not at the same time. I'm sure that doesn't make sense, but I hope it somehow does!
I particularly liked that the novel explores a lot of different themes and ideas without feeling overwhelming. There's grief, family trauma, that feeling that life hasn't worked out the way you hoped it would, historical elements, the mystery surrounding Nico's mother's disappearance, and of course the fantasy aspects--and perhaps a hint of sci-fi in some ways?--and all of these somehow worked together really excellently. I also enjoyed the incorporation of a certain renowned scientist that was an unexpected surprised, but that added a fun layer to the narrative and that I think fit absolutely perfectly with the concept being explored.
I can't really say too much more about the story itself without giving things way, as this really feels like a story that is best discovered and explored from your own experience. I will note that I am the slightest bit mixed on the ending, however. It's actually pretty ideal, but also not quite what I expected or what I'd typically expect to see from a story like this, so it actually caught me by surprised--which I appreciated--and I'm still thinking about it and its ramifications. And to be honest, any book that leaves me thinking about its ending after I've finished it is a good sign to me, so take from that what you will.
Overall, The Door in Penrose Forest is a really intriguing read that covers some difficult and relatable topics, but also some really exciting ones that play with some really interesting questions and ideas about identity and how we live our lives. I definitely recommend this one to pretty much anyone who likes to explore something new with thoughtfulness and a steady pace. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more from Sean David Robinson in the future!
We begin our story following Nico Calloway who is currently journeying back to his hometown due to his father's deteriorating health. His mother disappeared when he was a child while the family of three was on a research trip for her to study some monarch butterflies. Returning home for Nico is difficult, as he's confronted with the early memories of losing his mother, losing his first love, and simply dealing with looking at a life left behind that has many painful memories. While staying at his father's house, Nico discovers his mother's field journals that include her journal entries from the duration of their trip back in 1997 until her disappearance, and it is these journals that give Nico the first glimmer of hope and intrigue about his missing mother in many years--and of course, this is really where our story begins.
The story is told through three main POVs, and this ended up working well for this story's format. We primarily follow Nico's POV, but we also follow a man from the past named Wilfred, who becomes the valet of a character that is quite important to this story, as well as the perspective of Nico's mother as we read through her journals. The latter is the smallest portion of the three, but that certainly does not mean it is lacking in keeping readers engaged, as reading her experiences was definitely page-turning. I found the historical portions involving Wilfred enjoyable, though I found them slightly inconsistent in how engaging they were for me. It always felt like a pretty significant jump from Nico's perspective to Wilfred's, and it was often when I quite engrossed in Nico's story so it made it a bit harder to shift my mind. But fortunately, there were quite a lot of interesting things happening in Wilfred's that helped capture my attention soon enough. Overall, I'm glad that Wilfred's sections didn't occupy more of the narrative than they did, though if they had expanded upon some areas I wouldn't have minded that.
The Door in Penrose Forest is definitely a slower build-up of a story, but it's not a boring one. There's a strong sense of mystery and intrigue from the very beginning, even a sense of slightly haunting and uncertainty. I found the first portion of this book especially eerie, with some strong hints of something uncanny going on that we, as readers, really have no way to predict or expect. I'm a little torn on whether or not I think that the rest of the story really delivered on matching this tone, as there were parts that felt just as intriguing as the start, but other parts that felt like they mellowed out slightly and left me wanting just a little something more than what was delivered. Even so, I very much enjoyed discovering what was happening alongside Nico, and I was captivated by the directions the author took and the ideas he played with throughout. The story has a rather dreamily haunted atmosphere to it (I have no idea how else to describe this, so I hope my meaning is conveyed well enough) that makes it feel a little bit like reading déjà vu, but also not at the same time. I'm sure that doesn't make sense, but I hope it somehow does!
I particularly liked that the novel explores a lot of different themes and ideas without feeling overwhelming. There's grief, family trauma, that feeling that life hasn't worked out the way you hoped it would, historical elements, the mystery surrounding Nico's mother's disappearance, and of course the fantasy aspects--and perhaps a hint of sci-fi in some ways?--and all of these somehow worked together really excellently. I also enjoyed the incorporation of a certain renowned scientist that was an unexpected surprised, but that added a fun layer to the narrative and that I think fit absolutely perfectly with the concept being explored.
I can't really say too much more about the story itself without giving things way, as this really feels like a story that is best discovered and explored from your own experience. I will note that I am the slightest bit mixed on the ending, however. It's actually pretty ideal, but also not quite what I expected or what I'd typically expect to see from a story like this, so it actually caught me by surprised--which I appreciated--and I'm still thinking about it and its ramifications. And to be honest, any book that leaves me thinking about its ending after I've finished it is a good sign to me, so take from that what you will.
Overall, The Door in Penrose Forest is a really intriguing read that covers some difficult and relatable topics, but also some really exciting ones that play with some really interesting questions and ideas about identity and how we live our lives. I definitely recommend this one to pretty much anyone who likes to explore something new with thoughtfulness and a steady pace. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more from Sean David Robinson in the future!
*I received a copy of The Door in Penrose Forest courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*
Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org
