A college student with schizophrenia named Martha Covington just recovered from a psychotic episode. She has started over in the tiny town of Amberleen (think Beaufort, South Carolina) with the help of her psychiatrist Vince and a daily dose of medication. The local history society has offered her an internship there. Oral histories from the direct descendants of enslaved West Africans known as Geechee who reside on Shell Heap Island (think Sapelo Island) are what she documents and transcribes.
Even though Martha is recovering, she continues to hear unidentifiable voices, such as Lenny’s, who interrupts her anytime she feels nervous and fills her mind with unfavorable ideas. She also sees things. The late-night vision of a dead body hanging from a tree that is actually a broken limb is an example of how they can sometimes turn out to be nothing. Sometimes, however, they prove to be something, such as the mummified finger she discovers or the house cat scuttling across the floor of her rooming house.
Thanks to R.K. Jackson
Thanks to R.K. Jackson
Martha encounters Geechee soothsayer Lady Albertha during her first visit to Shell Heap Island. She explains to Martha that she, too, possesses the talent of talking with spirits, but that the drugs she takes make it difficult for her to do so.
In the meantime, anxiety is building in this picturesque area of Georgia’s coast. In order to compel the Geechee to sell them the land for the construction of Tidewater, a golf course community of upscale residences, a secretive group of Amberleen developers is hoping to have the County Commission condemn land on Shell Heap Island.
A group of young Black activists who have been misrepresented by the pro-development contingent as drug-dealing gang members are also fiercely opposed, as is Martha’s kind boss Lydia Dussault, who is a member of Amberleen’s affluent old guard.
Following a startling murder, Martha is named the top suspect and goes into hiding, denying herself access to the medication that prevents the unwanted voices and visions. In an attempt to ascertain whether what she sees and hears is genuine and what, if anything, spirits from beyond the mortal world might be attempting to tell her, she teams up with an unlikely ally and sets out to uncover the real culprit.
Aside from the captivating plot and captivating characters, one of the things that makes this audiobook so enjoyable is Hillary Huber’s narration, which was recognized by AudioFile magazine as a 2025 Golden Voice. Her command of accents, ranging from the thick vowel drawl of Southern aristocracy to the melodic Geechee dialect, is spot-on and a delight to this Southerner.
You can get The Girl in the Maze on Spotify, Apple Books, and other platforms.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s contributing editor and book critic is Suzanne Van Atten. You can get in touch with her at [email protected].
