The Servants by Michael Marshall Smith

No picture available yet. This adult novel is a quiet psychological thriller. Maybe thriller is too strong of a word. But this one reminded me of two shorts stories--"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Rocking Horse Winner." The strange things are happening in the mind of young Mark, an eleven year old boy who is dealing with a dad who left, a mom who remarried, a step-dad he doesn't want, and his mom's sickness. She has cancer and doesn't want to leave the house. Mark is left on his own, skateboarding and eventually visiting the strange old lady in the basement flat. Maybe there are ghosts who in the servants' quarters with her. But maybe not. Who knows?