“Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling. . . . [A] deliciously terrifying story. . . .You’ll want to read this one after dark, ideally with the wind whistling in the eaves and a window banging somewhere just out of reach. But keep the light switch handy. You just might need it.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Deliciously creepy, engrossing and very addictive, this is one book you should not read when you are alone or at night! It actually gives you ideas and you look around for the source of that ‘sound’!
Imagine having a bestselling book written about you and your family and your time in a rambling, old house when you were a child. It is full of details about scary things that happened to you and you can’t remember any of it though it is your father who is the author! That’s Maggie Holt’s life.
When she was 5, her parents Ewan and Jess bought Baneberry Hall, a big bungalow in a super isolated location and moved in with her. With a disturbing history and lots of old house noises to contend with, the family is still not prepared for what they encounter.
Noises, shadows, mysterious music and lots of other things that have no logical explanation surround them and then it gets worse and they flee the house, never to go back.
Until the present, when Maggie has inherited the house and despite warnings from her mother and her now dead father, is determined to find out the truth about the house. She believs her father made up most of what he wrote in his book and hates all the lies and the way the book took over her life and made her a freak.
But back at the house, she discovers that what she doesn’t remember about the past may well be in the present too. If what her father wrote was a figment of his imagination, why are things mentioned in it occurring now?
Going back and forth between the book and the present, the tension is actually nail biting. It is like watching a scary movie through the gap between your fingers! You want to know what is going to happen though you know it will probably keep you sleepless!
A very gripping read, my first by this author. Can’t wait to check out his other books.
Reviewed by:
Priya Prakash
Added 17th November 2020
