The Silent Companions

The Silent Companions

by Laura Purcell

Blurb:

When newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge, what greets her is far from the life of wealth and privilege she was expecting . . .

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure —a silent companion —-that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition--that is, until she notices the figure's eyes following her.

A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, this is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect--much like the silent companions themselves.

My Reaction:

Hm.  Unfortunately, I didn't like this one as much as I hoped I would.  (I'm beginning to think my horror tastes don't align sufficiently with the "booktuber" who recommended this.  I keep feeling let down by their suggestions.)

There were a few creepy moments, but I didn't find it all that scary, actually.  I was more frustrated than frightened, which is never a good thing in horror.  I could see most major plot-points coming from far away, so there was no element of surprise, either—and now that I sit here thinking about it, there are several things that weren't explained, unless I missed it.  (I'll get into that in the spoiler section below.) 

I think I had difficulty getting into the story because it didn't feel authentic.  (I know, I know: It's paranormal horror!)  Some of it just felt too modern for the time periods represented.  For instance, there's a multi-volume journal penned by a female character who lived in the 1600s.  I don't think that was likely, to begin with, but to make it worse, it's one of those "only exist in fiction" diaries that go into far more detail (including transcriptions of conversations) than any real diary ever does. Unfortunately, things like that gave the book an amateurish feeling, in my opinion.

It's okay, but I don't get all the enthusiasm for this one. 

SPOILERS

to

follow...

So, the plot holes, unexplained parts of the story, or whatever you want to call them... I guess you can just wiggle your fingers and whisper "Magic!" to explain away some of these things, but they annoy me.  

First, why does the companion that is known as "Hetta" so closely resemble Elsie?  They are not connected by blood.  Maybe they don't look that much alike? I can't recall if it's only Elsie who observes a resemblance... 

Second, the way the original silent companions are introduced into the story is strange.  We are given the impression that the mysterious shopkeeper knows there's something odd about them and seems to almost trick Anne into buying them.  Then when she tries to return them, the whole building is gone.  ...Huh?  What's the sinister history of the companions?  Are the companions the source of the evil that later contaminates Hetta—and if not, what are the odds that Anne would have such crappy luck (evil kid and evil home decor, totally unrelated)? 

It definitely feels like there was something wrong with the shopkeeper, and by extension the companions, even though they apparently never killed anyone until after Hetta's blood seeps into them and she possesses them, or whatever else is meant to have happened to make them evil and capable of murder.  And then there's the fact that Elsie seems to think that the companion version of Rupert (her deceased husband) is holding his soul captive and tormenting him.  (It seems like there was another character who may have been trapped inside a companion, but I can't recall for certain...) What's going on with that?!  It's never really fleshed out to my satisfaction. 

Third, are we supposed to think that Hetta was actually born evil, or... what?  She seems like she's just a bit fey and misunderstood (and poorly treated by her father) until she's forbidden to perform for the King and Queen, at which point she promptly turns evil in an extreme overreaction that makes no sense whatsoever.  

What's up with the splinters?  I'm not clear about how people would be getting splinters from contact with painted, clothed wooden figures that don't seem to be particularly roughly textured.  And how in the world does Elsie's unborn baby end up covered in splinters?!  (Yeah, it's one of the creepiest parts of the book, but it makes no logical sense whatsoever, as far as I can see.) 

Are we supposed to doubt Elsie?  Is she an unreliable narrator?  I never really doubt anything she says, so if that's the intention, maybe that's another part of what's missing.  

Are we supposed to like Jolyon?  Blurgh.  Couldn't stand the guy.  I get it that Elsie loves him (and that he's actually her son conceived through incestuous abuse, reading between the lines), but... I think he's kind of a jerk, if I'm honest. Not that I liked Elsie much, either.  None of the characters are especially relatable. 

The Sundial

The Sundial

by Shirley Jackson

Blurb:

Before there was Hill House, there was the Halloran mansion of Jackson’s stunningly creepy fourth novel, The Sundial. Aunt Fanny has always been somewhat peculiar. When the Halloran clan gathers at the family home for a funeral, no one is surprised when she wanders off into the secret garden. But then Aunt Fanny returns to report an astonishing vision of an apocalypse from which only the Hallorans and their hangers-on will be spared, and the family finds itself engulfed in growing madness, fear, and violence as they prepare for a terrible new world. For Aunt Fanny's long-dead father has given her the precise date of the final cataclysm!

My Reaction:

Hm.  I think there's a reason this is one of Jackson's "forgotten" novels.  

I started reading this one on the Kindle, but after a while, it was obvious that I was having trouble making progress with it, so I switched to audio format.  That helped me finish it, but didn't really make me like it all that much more.  

When you start reading a "lesser-known" novel by a famous author, it can be difficult to come to it with a completely open mind.  After all, it's a pretty safe bet that it's not going to be a huge crowd-pleaser, else it wouldn't be lesser-known.  Sometimes you may be pleasantly surprised, but in this case, maybe not.  There are some amusing and creepy moments, but I had a feeling early on that the end would be disappointing, and I can't say that I was wrong.  I just feel like shrugging, unfortunately.  

I'm not sure if I'll ever bother with the remaining of the "lesser-knowns" that I've yet to read.  Revisiting one of the stronger novels might be a better bet, if the mood strikes me.

A Head Full of Ghosts

A Head Full of Ghosts

by Paul Tremblay

Blurb:

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

My Reaction:

Hm.  I'm feeling ambivalent about this book.  

First things first:  I listened to the audiobook version, and while this is the first book of this author's that I've "read"/listened to, I did watch Knock at the Cabin, the film adaptation of The Cabin at the End of the World, then went and skimmed a synopsis of the novel (after reading that the movie went in a different direction from the original story).  Based on that experience (both the movie and reading the synopsis), I wasn't feeling confident I'd love A Head Full of Ghosts—but I'd already put it on my list a long time back after seeing it recommended highly, so when the opportunity presented itself, I gave it a try, anyway.  

It's not bad, but it's also not a favorite.  There are a few good, chilling moments, but in my view it doesn't live up to the hype.  Maybe I missed something, but... Eh, I wanted more answers rather than questions and hints and suggestions that, more often than not, seem self-contradictory.

Specifics:

—I've never watched The Exorcist and have no desire to do so.  It's one of those "classic" horror movies that holds no allure for me.  The whole "exorcism genre" has never appealed to me, and any time a movie includes an exorcism, I wish it would finish quickly so we can get on with the interesting parts of the story.  I just don't get the appeal.  The idea of actually being possessed (or being around someone who is or believes they are) is, of course, horrifying, but the actual exorcism itself?  No, not interested in that.  Since so much of the book revolves around that plot point, that's a strike against the book right away.  

—I see that I'm not alone in finding the blogger character's writing style frustrating to read.  I believe I understand why the author did it this way, but it's still deeply irritating to read, after a while.  

—Didn't care for how the narrator voiced male characters... And her way of pronouncing "always", shortening the second half of the word so it sounds like "alwys", makes me shudder, for some reason.  Funnily enough, I catch myself saying it that way sometimes, too—but not alwys.  (Ha ha.)  Oh, and the "yeah?" that the two sisters kept tacking onto the ends of sentences drove me up the wall, too.  (Okay, maybe I'm a bit too easy to irritate.)

—Marjorie really annoyed me.  "Mom" annoyed me. "Dad"?  Also annoying.  Young Merry is mostly relatable, though even she is occasionally annoying.  The whole cast kind of rubbed me the wrong way, at one point or another.  (Let's just get it all out there... Grump, grump, grump!)

—This novel is also being made into a movie, evidently.  I'd be interested in seeing it, at some point, to see how they adapt it.  It might work better on the screen, though I'm not sure how they'll handle the blog element...

Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark

by Riley Sager

Blurb:

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

My Reaction:

I believe this is my second time "reading" (listening to an audiobook version) anything written by this author.  The previous one, The House Across the Lake, was more to my liking, though the major plot twist comes out of the blue and feels odd and out of place.  Home Before Dark, on the other hand, had essentially the opposite twist—a comparison that will make no sense unless you've read both books...

I found it more entertaining before it became obvious that... Well, without going into spoilers, before that twist I referred to before.  

The atmosphere through much of the book reminded me of the recent(ish) miniseries adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House.  But unfortunately, part of that similarity was a pervasive feeling of sadness.  It feels less frightening than depressing.  So much wasted potential, in so many lives!  

Another problem was that I couldn't warm to the main character, or feel much of anything for her, one way or the other.  Her father, who speaks through his "book within a book", is more engaging, but there are issues with him, as well.  (For one thing, you never know—until the end—how much of what he's saying is true.)  

Ultimately, it's fine, but not something I'll revisit.  I'd happily read or listen to more by the author, though.  This type of book doesn't need to be amazing and unforgettable to be a perfectly decent read, in my opinion.  I'm just looking for something fictional to think about while I quilt, and this did the trick!

Nitpicky Specifics:

• The title doesn't make much sense.  I like it as a title, but it doesn't fit with the story.  
• I really don't understand the need for a father to discuss any aspect of his sex life with his daughter.  Gross.  Should have been left out, as it was completely unnecessary. 
• The regional accents adopted by the two narrators are strange and distracting.  Every time the male narrator voiced the teenage girl I cringed, and all the "locals" voiced by the female narrator sound like a version of Rhoda Morgenstern from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which I very much doubt was intentional.  
• The female protagonist keeps making unforced errors, putting herself into stupid situations for no apparent reason.  Not uncommon in fiction, but always annoying!

3.5 stars, but not rounding up this time. 

The Victorian Chaise-Longue

The Victorian Chaise-Longue

by Marghanita Laski

Blurb:

A young married woman lies down on a chaise-longue and wakes to find herself imprisoned in the body of her alter ego ninety years before.

My Reaction:

I've had this one on my list for years, but now that I've finally read it, I never want to read it again—and that's not because it's so horrifying that I couldn't bear to revisit it.  Though this work of psychological horror certainly is unsettling—and it also happens to feature the type of horror that probably bothers me most, body horror, health horror, medical horror—it's not calculated to leave me sleepless or anxious.  

Sadly, I wouldn't care to read it again because I didn't find it a satisfying reading experience.  Though it's already short, as a novella, it felt in need of yet more pruning.  It could easily have been cut even shorter, and I believe it would have been more effective if it had been.  As it was, it felt repetitive in a way that numbed and stupefied rather than heightening the tension.  (On the other hand, it could have been fleshed out into a more engaging full-length novel, but the repetitiveness still would have needed to be addressed.)

There were some interesting ideas to explore here, especially the way that a culture's standards of morality and acceptable behavior shift over time.  What would be an unpardonable sin during one period of time might be almost a mere foible a hundred years later.  When (not to mention where) we are born can be the difference between life and death, joy and misery.  

As for the ending, maybe it's just a matter of taste... I know some people like open-ended stories, but I'm not one of them.  A little ambiguity can be okay, but this felt disappointing.  At least it was short!

The Writing Retreat

The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

Blurb:

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.

My Reaction:

Hm... Not what I was expecting.  This wasn't quite my cup of tea.  (I wasn't expecting it to verge into erotica, for one thing!)

A few thoughts:

—This would have been better without the "book-within-a-book" snippets.  They didn't add much, in my opinion, and ended up being a distraction from the real story.  

—When you have characters speaking about how well-written the "book-within-the-book" is and then include some of said fictional book, there's always the danger of readers thinking, "Eh, this isn't quite the work of genius we've been led to expect."  That's certainly what happened here for me.  Didn't care for it!

—Actually, the entire secondary story about the tragic and/or creepy history of the house feels completely unnecessary.  You may think it's going to be important, but no, it could easily have been left out.  It's supposed to be relevant to the conclusion, helping Alex make realizations and breakthroughs, but... I'm not buying it.  There were other ways to develop the character without dragging in paranormal red herrings and making us read Alex's boring book. 

—I listened to the audiobook, and it took a while for me to get used to the narrator for this one. 

—Had to roll my eyes at a few things, including the scene where the women share their pronouns.  Yes, that felt completely natural and unforced.  No agendas on display here!

—There are a few plot points that may leave you scratching your head, such as a character who looks much younger than she actually is and Alex's mother's bizarre timeline.  (How old is she?!)

—The ending was strange and unsatisfying.  All this build-up to how horrific and crazy a certain character is, then it all just ends with a puff a smoke.  Yes, there are "stakes".  Yes, there are bad things happening, but... 

Ok, I can't write about this without going into spoilers, so...

SPOILER

 ALERT

After all the build-up of danger, even though some characters do die, it feels like the ones you're supposed to really care about are all okay.  And the Bad Guy just agrees to... leave.  It's abrupt, odd, and anticlimactic.  And then when it turns out that Roza is alive (obviously), Alex's reaction is strange and difficult to understand.  She has this bizarre crush on Roza, even after all she's done.  It's gross.  

Since I've already put up the spoiler warning, did Roza really think she'd get away with murder and stealing yet more books?  I mean, I guess it's nothing she hasn't already done, but this feels more visible—more likely to draw the scrutiny of the authorities and possibly raise some eyebrows.  And why?  She's apparently very wealthy, already, and she's established her legacy as a famous literary author, so again, why?  

The Sea King's Daughter

The Sea King's Daughter

by Barbara Michaels

Blurb:

Since Sandy Frederick first set foot on the volcanic Greek isle of Thera, this breathtaking place of ancient myth and mystery has haunted her dreams. Joining her estranged, obsessed father on a dive to find astonishing secrets from the ocean's floor, she cannot shake the feeling that she was meant to be here; that some ancient, inscrutable power is calling to her. But there are others who have been eagerly waiting for her arrival to drag her into a tangled and terrifying web of secrets, dark superstition, betrayal, blood, and death. And suddenly Sandy's heritage and her destiny could be her doom.

My Reaction:

This is another of Barbara Michael's 1970's gothic thrillers.  I think I've read most of them, at this point, and while not without its faults, I enjoyed it (especially the first half) more than I expected.  I think it was better than the last few of hers I've read.  

What made this one better?  Three things come to mind:

• Exotic locale.
  The beautiful setting of Santorini worked in its favor and gave it a light touch of the Mary Stewart vibe.  It's much more appealing than the last one I remember reading, which was set against the scintillating setting of some boring college, a creepy old grump's deteriorating (?) mansion, and the claustrophobic home of two aging religious obsessives.  (Search the Shadows, if that has tempted you...)
• Non-academic heroine.
  Obviously I don't object to an intelligent heroine, but it does make a bit of a change that this one starts out being more interested in athletic pursuits than books—though she still comes across as unusually well-informed in some rather niche subjects, which was a bit silly.  Either commit to a non-bookish heroine or don't!  Ah well, at least she tried.  It's definitely a break from the author's usual style, and that gave it a fresher feel. 
• Less "male chauvinist pig"-hunting.
  Some of these books are heavy handed with the attitude of, "Oh, what a good feminist am I!  I shall find offense hidden in every little thing, because it's us against them!"  It gets old, and the language feels outdated.  (The funny thing is that there are some very unenlightened, cringe-inducing elements in some of these books, despite the attempt to be oh-so correct.)  There are a few... moments, but it's less than usual.

Those positives aside, I didn't give two figs about the romance and found the whole mystery a bit blah.  The early hints at the spooky supernatural came to naught, and despite some literal earth-shaking developments in the plot (not to mention a few natural fireworks), the whole story felt flat for me.  I just... didn't really care.  

It was okay.  At least I didn't actively hate the heroine by the end of the book, which isn't always a given with these things!

Daisy Darker

Daisy Darker

by Alice Feeney

(Edited) Blurb:

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.  

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

My Reaction:

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel while quilting, and found it entertaining... Until I didn't.  

—I loved the setting and the quirky details of the house.  Islands cut off by the tide are always a favorite!

—I loved the fact that it was obviously inspired by And Then There Were None.  

—I was intrigued by the mystery, and unlike some, I didn't mind alternating between the "then" and "now" timelines.  (Though to be honest, I've seen so much of that lately!  Maybe it's time for authors of thrillers to try something different, if only to set themselves apart from the rest.)

So yes, I was enjoying it, to begin with, but gradually a few things diminished that enjoyment.  

First:  
These characters!  Almost everyone is awful.  I know, I know!  You need conflict, and awful characters provide that.  The quality of a book isn't dependent on the likeability of the characters, etc., etc.  Yes, but the fact remains that if too many of your characters are just horrid, reading the book becomes an unpleasant experience.  And yes, I did say that I was happy that it was inspired by And Then There Were None, which is also full of awful characters... Look, I don't know what to say, except that while listening to this, I eventually had had enough of ALL of these people!

Second: 

The writing style was quaint and entertaining, in the beginning, but at some point I started to feel slightly annoyed by the "clever sayings" and "deep thoughts" generously sprinkled throughout the novel, both in dialogue and interior monologue.  Some of them are interesting or thought-provoking, but after a while they felt repetitive and irritating.

Third:

Predictable twists that kind of annoyed me.  I saw some of the twists coming, and I didn't love them.  The main twist in particular is just... Eh.  Maybe it didn't help that there was a similar(ish) twist in the last audiobook I listened to.  Maybe I didn't like it simply because it's so sad. 

Fourth:

Some of the motivations didn't make much sense to me.  To be fair, people's motivations in real life don't always make sense, either, so maybe it's not exactly unrealistic!  Still, it dragged down the end of the story, for me.  I spent too much time thinking, "Really?  Well, okay then!"

However—over all, yes, I liked it.  Despite my misgivings about certain aspects of this one, I think I'll round it up to four stars.  

A few SPOILERY final thoughts:

S
P
O
I
L
E
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I do have a question, though, about what happened to all those bodies at the end of the book!  What's going to happen when someone starts looking for one of these people?  Some of them were employed and would have people expecting them back at work within a few days!

END

OF

SPOILERS

Feathers in the Fire

Feathers in the Fire

by Catherine Cookson

Blurb:

Every once in a while, circumstance traps a group of people in a pattern of tragedy and violence from which they struggle vainly to fight free. Thus it was with the Master of Cock Shield Farm, Angus McBain, a man too easily tempted to sin, and those in and around his household.

My Reaction:

This was my first time reading anything by Catherine Cookson.  She clearly knew how to write a gripping historical tale.  I wouldn't say it's "literary quality", but it's perfectly good entertainment and has more depth than you might expect.  Though I didn't love the story, personally, I can't deny that it's extremely readable, with plenty of character development.  (Also a fair bit of scandal, if that's your thing!)  These aren't two-dimensional characters, and they are interesting to read about, but the drama and unending bad fortune became frustrating to read, especially when it felt avoidable with an ounce of common sense and a decisive action or two.

I wouldn't label this as primarily a romance, incidentally.  Though there are elements of romance, that's not how I'd describe it.  It's more of a drama and character study than a typical romance.  If you come looking for a straightforward romance, I'm afraid you may find it a slog!

I'd consider reading another of this author's novels, but not immediately.  I need a chance to recover from (or possibly forget) my issues with this one!

(The version I've linked here in my blog has a different title.  The alternate title, Her Secret Son, and description are a bit odd, in fact.  I'm not sure what they were thinking when they came up with this.  There is no "secret son" in this novel!  But at least it's available.  Some of this author's books apparently have been difficult to access after going out of print.)

Search the Shadows

Search the Shadows

by Barbara Michaels

Blurb:

Haskell Maloney was cruelly orphaned when she was just a baby. Now, twenty-two years later, she receives confirmation of the bitter truth she always suspected: the fallen war hero whose name she shares was not her father. Her quest for answers—and a personal history—brings Haskell to the famed Oriental Institute in Chicago, a city in which her mother lived and thrived before her strange, untimely death. But by rummaging around in the darkness, Haskell's exposing much more than she bargained for. And now she's racing against the clock to discover who she really is . . . and why someone is suddenly determined to kill her.

My Reaction:

Eh... This one was so slow to get started!  It needed either more fleshing out to make it more engaging in the first half or to be trimmed down.  (Trimming down would probably be preferable!)  As it is, you're waiting for something to happen-- for the book to take a definite direction-- for far too long.  When things finally get moving, it's okay-ish, but certainly not one of the author's best novels.  

Random Thoughts (with possible slight spoilers):

--  I find it amusing that this author clearly considered herself very "with it" and feminist, and yet her writing has some painfully cringe-worthy sexist stereotypes.  The way she describes one female character in particular, in this book, is just... Wow!

--  The main character is a woman named "Haskell".  A bit odd, and yes, I know I have a nerve to say so, since I'm a female Michael... But I acknowledge that my name is rather odd, too.  

--  I realize she "had" to do it to get the story going in its intended direction, and ultimately you understand why, but it seemed very strange to me that Haskell breaks off her engagement simply because she suspects that the man she thought was her father (but who she had never even met) wasn't her biological dad.  I get that it might be startling and make you want to investigate and locate your biological father, but it's a weird reason to call off an engagement!  She treats Jon poorly throughout the book, really.

--  It will never cease to be gross and yucky and utterly unappealing when male characters with a romantic interest in female characters call them "child", "kid", or otherwise refer to them as being childlike.  "Oh, Haskell ... You are so damned young"?  Ugh!  

--  It always rubs me the wrong way when an author makes irritating "asides", observations, or excuses about how a character has said something that's grammatically incorrect.  Argh!  We know you know how to "write good", okay?  Give it a rest!!  Let the characters speak naturally, please!  Stop berating them (for the words you put in their mouths) and drawing undue attention to the fact that everyday speech is frequently not grammatically correct.  We already know that.

One example: 

"What do you want to know that for?"

"Your grammar is as befuddled as your reasoning," Dave said cuttingly.  

--  Twice near the end, Haskell thinks something to the effect that cigarette smoke smells nice.  My personal favorite?  "I lay still, savoring the beautiful gray light and the exquisite aroma of cigarette smoke that permeated the sheets."  This was published in 1987, so yes, cigarette smoking was more common than it is now, but even back then, didn't most people think cigarette smoke reeked?  If not, it was probably only because they were smokers themselves and were nose-blind to it.  I don't know... I'm just not buying this love for the so-called "aroma" of cigarette smoke.  Then again, I suppose we can sometimes enjoy/appreciate objectively stinky smells simply because we associate them with someone we love.  

--  I wasn't sure who Haskell's father would be, to tell the truth.  There are a handful of equally plausible possibilities, and by the time it was revealed, I just kind of shrugged... "Yep.  That was one of the possibilities I considered.  She sure did find out who her bio dad is.  (...yawn)"

--  I was similarly uncertain of how the romance aspect of the book would work out, until fairly near the end.  It was a bit out of the blue. It felt like she was steering us in a different direction for most of the book... Then you could tell that was a no-go, and she suddenly changed tack, which is something I don't particularly like in romances.  I want a chance to root for a pairing, not have two or three kind of "meh" options and no clue about where things are headed.  So yes, this was slightly disorienting, but unlike some other readers, I found the last part of the book (where the romance is resolved) generally more entertaining to read than much of the rest of it.  I might have liked the book better if more pages had been devoted to the romance instead of the dull, plodding mystery/who's-the-daddy storyline!

--  I was disappointed by the lack of exciting treasure-hunting and sorting through artifacts.  I guess I should've known that wouldn't materialize, because it would be difficult to write in an interesting way without distracting from the rest of the book, but still... I felt let down.  

--  There was very much less of the paranormal than I expected.  Some of this author's novels lean heavily on the supernatural, and for some reason I thought this one might, as well.  I wasn't so much disappointed as mildly surprised by the lack.  

Conclusion:  It took me a while to work my way through this book, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're already a fan.  I think I've always found her works annoying in some ways, but I think I used to enjoy them more than I do now.  At this point, it seems likely that either I'm pickier now or I'm remembering liking some of her other novels better than I actually did.  I can't believe I just happened to read all the better ones first.

Death in the Andamans

Death in the Andamans

by M.M. Kaye

Blurb:

When a violent storm lashes the tiny Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, Copper Randal barely manages a safe return to Government House. She does get back in one piece with her hostess, Valerie Masson, Val's fiancé, and handsome naval officer Nick Tarrent, but one of the islanders is unaccounted for when the boats return to harbor. Cut off from the mainland and confined to the shadowy, haunted guest quarters, Copper and the other visitors conclude that one of their number is a murderer. The killer must be found before the storm destroys all trace of any possible clues.

My Reaction:

With this, I believe I've read all of Kaye's murder mysteries.  This (same as the others) was fine, but I always like the idea of her books more than the reality, unfortunately.  Apparently she's a solid 3-star author for me, based on past reviews (and this one, too).  Nothing amazing, but okay.  Good in spots, less impressive in others.  

These books always seem to have a peculiarly strong fixation on youth and beauty, which is rather off-putting.  Not that Kaye's the only author who loves heroines who are young, beautiful women-- they're the norm in this type of fiction, of course, and that's just the way it is-- but still, at a certain point the constant worship at the altar of youth and beauty is boring, if not irritating!  It almost feels as though a lack of personal beauty is a character flaw-- especially in female characters-- and your value decreases as you age or if you weren't blessed with attractive features.  Don't we get enough of that attitude in real life without being beaten over the head with it in our escapist literature?

Some of the attitudes between men and women in this book annoy me, too.  Men sending the women away from crime scenes as though they can't handle it, calling them "child", etc.  I never warmed toward Nick, and I'm not cuckoo for Copper, either (or her stupid nickname)... Valerie seems slightly less annoying than Copper, and for a while, I liked Charles pretty well, but eventually I got a bit sick of him, too!  (The Bertie Wooster routine eventually wore thin.  Not everyone has P.G. Wodehouse's ability to write Wooster-type characters without them grating on your nerves.  It takes some skill!)

That said, the settings in these books are perfect for a little escapism of the "travel mystery-romance" type, and they're easy to slip into for a little distraction from reality.  I did find it difficult keeping some of the secondary characters straight in my head, but oh well!  I also wonder if people ever actually quoted literature and poetry at one another quite as much as these characters do!  A little of that is okay-- only to be expected, in fact, from books of a certain type, from that era-- but it does get old after a while.  (Yes, you're educated!  Yes, you've read literature!  Yes, you have excellent memory!  Now, kindly shut up and get on with the story!)

Despite all my grouching, I do like aspects of these books, even if they're not perfect and don't always exactly hit the spot.  They have a way of making you feel nostalgic for (certain aspects of) a time you never knew.  Also, it was interesting to read the author's description of the storm, as someone who lives in "hurricane country".  

The Bird's Nest

The Bird's Nest

by Shirley Jackson

(Edited) Blurb:

Elizabeth is a demure twenty-three-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother's inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist.  The fabric of Elizabeth's reality unravels with terrifying speed, and it seems there may be no way to repair the damage and make her whole again. 

The Bird's Nest, Jackson's third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master's most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.

My Reaction:

I edited the blurb slightly to avoid what may or may not be considered a spoiler.  I didn't read a blurb going in, and I certainly didn't know everything that this unedited blurb revealed, but maybe that's not a typical reading experience for this book...  In any case, if you want to avoid spoilers altogether, it's probably best not to read this or any other reviews-- though the plot element I'm referring to as a potential spoiler is integral to most of the book, so... Just giving you fair warning, if you want to go in with no preconceptions.  

As I mentioned, I didn't know what this book would be about, at all, and it came as a surprise when the central subject became apparent.  I feel like I've been unintentionally reading/consuming a lot of fiction, in the past half a year or so, with multiple personalities / dissociative identity disorder as a central subject.  Just an odd coincidence, I guess.  

Though I've read The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and a collection of her short stories, this is my first time reading one of Jackson's lesser-known novels.  It's clear why this isn't one of her most famous works.  It could use some tightening-up; it was at times needlessly repetitive, and the section set in NYC was over-long, in my opinion.  There were also a few times where I felt uncertain of the author's objective, and while that can be done intentionally, for effect, I don't believe that was always the case here.  There was a whole section about a "practical joke" that felt out of place, as well.  

On the other hand, there were several very unsettling moments, juxtaposed against others that were genuinely amusing, if at times rather dark humor.  Jackson even managed to pull her trick of writing something that feels uncomfortably familiar-- you know, those times when you recognize aspects of yourself in a character, though not always in a positive way.  While I found the ending a bit puzzling, I mostly enjoyed the way it was written.  It seemed to come out of nowhere.  I wasn't expecting something so evidently hopeful!  

(...Well, I found the ending hopeful, anyway.  From the reviews I've skimmed since finishing, not everyone agrees on that point.  I also feel sympathetic toward both Dr. Wright and Aunt Morgen-- both flawed characters, but human and essentially well-meaning.)

I wouldn't count on this novel's depiction of DID for accuracy; however, I'm not sure what I believe about DID, to begin with-- especially with the way that it's become almost "trendy" with some people today (mainly some bizarre and troubled people on TikTok, from what I've seen).  I guess maybe it's real in some cases, but I feel that it must be extremely rare, considering that it's supposed to result from particularly traumatic abuse suffered at a very young age.  Videos of people showing off their supposed "alters" seem false and a disgusting bid for attention.  

Anyway... I found this novel interesting in parts, but rather weak in others, and more slowly paced than I'd have liked.  You can see glimmers of Shirley Jackson's developing style, but it's not her at her best, and it certainly wasn't nearly so much "horror" as you might expect.  I wouldn't suggest reading this one until you've first enjoyed her more famous works.  

Tregaron's Daughter

Tregaron's Daughter

by Madeleine Brent

Blurb:

Madeleine Brent's first novel follows the fortunes of Cadi Tregaron, a sixteen year old fisherman's daughter. Happy in the small community of the coastal village where she has spent her life, the only hint of disquiet has been a recurring dream-- of a great house standing in water and of a faceless man who awaits her there-- a dream which is sometimes wonderful and sometimes terrifying.

By a cruel blow Cadi is left alone in the world, but she is taken into a wealthy family where she lives like a lady with servants to wait upon her and is treated as one of the family. At Meadhaven she finds mystery, danger and a hidden enemy. Is it the wayward young Richard Morton? Or the grey-eyed stranger who is forever watching her? Or is it Lucian Farrel, her benefactor's maverick nephew, whose face now becomes the one to haunt her dream.

But the dream turns to nightmare, for she finds that the house standing in water is a reality and that she is bound to it by a freak of ancestry. Here, in the house of her dream and far from her own country, Cadi comes to know heartbreak and grief, and learns the frightening truth about herself and the hidden enemy who threatens her life.

My Reaction:

I didn't realize this was Madeleine Brent's first novel until I finished reading it and started comparing notes with some other reviews.  Interesting... 

The general consensus seems to be that Tregaron's Daughter isn't Brent's best work, and I agree.  It felt a bit light-- shorter than I was expecting, though when I compare page-counts, it's not particularly short.  I suppose it just didn't feel as developed to me, for some reason.  Still, if you enjoy the genre, it's a perfectly good book.  It has the same style and follows the same basic formula as all of this author's other works under this pseudonym.  (I've never read anything he wrote under any other name.)  It hits all the same points as his other books-- or at least the ones I've read, which is most of them.  There's a touch of mysticism/the supernatural, and some of the coincidences are nothing short of amazing.  You have to just accept that these books don't take place in the same mundane reality that the rest of us inhabit.  That's part of their charm.

I didn't have a vehement reaction to this novel one way or the other, really.  The heroine is strong and admirable (one of Brent's trademarks), but I found her maybe a bit too perfect and popular at times.  I have to say, Mr. Morton's family was much more accepting of the addition of such a grown-up young woman into their family home than I would have been.  Wasn't she 19 when she moved in with them, and a perfect strange to everyone but Mr. Morton?  I don't know... The whole situation's more than a little odd, in my opinion!  I don't think I'd be happy, if I were his wife or one of his biological children.  I'm not as good as they are, I guess.  

Also, the culmination of the romance felt a little awkward to me.  Brent can write a good, appealing hero, but too often the interactions between his heroes and heroines feel stilted.  This is definitely one of those books where the otherwise intelligent heroine has some strange (and very convenient) blind spots.  There are things that are obvious to the reader for the entire book, yet the heroine has to have them literally explained to her in the last chapter or two!  Well, that's just the way these things go, I guess.  

I'm being picky.  It's a decent book, and this should be an enjoyable read for fans of the genre and the author.  No big surprises means less chance of disappointment, either!  I'd give this 3.5 stars, but am rounding up to 4 stars because I think it's better than 3 stars would suggest. 

The Roanoke Girls

The Roanoke Girls
by Amy Engel

Blurb:

Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family's rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.

But what she doesn't know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice...

My Reaction:

This was not what I was expecting, in the worst kind of way.  The "secret" of the Roanoke girls is very obvious, for starters.  The blurb makes it seem like it might be something more mysterious or eerie, but it's quickly revealed to be just what you'll soon guess after starting reading-- and really, there's not much more to it than that, certainly nothing worth so many pages.  It's not so much an eerie mystery as it is a disgusting tale about some deeply unpleasant people.  The subject matter... It's dark.  It's weird.  I don't really know what to say about it, beyond that.  It's deeply uncomfortable and doesn't feel like an accurate portrayal of how girls in this situation would actually feel or behave.  (But then again, it's not something I have the misfortune to know much about.  Maybe I'm wrong.)  The book tries to redeem itself in the final chapter, but it's not enough to save it.  

I'll try to avoid spoilers, but these are some of my gripes with the book:

--I hate nearly everyone in this book.
Yes, some of the characters supposedly behave the way they do because of how they've been raised, but that only gets you off the hook for so long.  The protagonist and her cousin (Lane and Allegra) are just... yuck.  Horrible, unlikeable characters.  I'm supposed to care what happens to them?  I'd like to give them a good slap, to be honest.

In particular, Lane is just so nasty about other women in the book.  Compared to the amazing Roanoke girls, they're not as attractive, lack style and sex appeal, and are generally inferior in every way.  I think Lane achieves her peak bitchiness when she visits Sarah.  She is so over-the-top mean about everything to do with Sarah-- her home decor, how clean she keeps the house, the fact that she's cooking a meal for her husband.  I mean, how dare she?!  It apparently "smacks of trying too hard".  There are also rude references to Sarah's clothes and hair.  UGH.  It just makes me angry.  

Lane does somehow claw herself an inch or two towards decency at the end, by which I mean that she's not so blatantly mean-spirited and awful, but I suspect that's mostly because she's too busy wrapping the story up to work in more of her horrible remarks (and there are no easy targets in sight).  

--Hot, sweaty grossness.

Yeah, we get it.  It's hot, sweaty, and gross in this place in... Kansas?  I don't even remember where the book is set!  Look, I live in Alabama.  Trust me, I know heat and humidity.  I (resentfully) live and breathe it for months every year.  "Air you can wear" is nothing new to me.  And yes, I can see how it might be used to create an atmosphere or sense of place in a book, but I just got sick and tired of reading about hot sweatiness on every other page.  I spend enough of my life feeling hot and sweaty if I dare to step outside.  I don't need to read about it, too!!  Besides, it seemed like it was hot in parts of the house, too, which is odd.  These people are rich.  Why don't they have effective A/C all through the house?  

--Feeling hungry?  You won't be after this book.
You know how some books leave you feeling hungry because of all the great descriptions or mentions of delicious food?  Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy is a great example of this.  Well, this book is the exact opposite.  Nearly all the food sounds disgusting or is reviled by the characters.  The Roanoke family's cook... can't cook.  It's such a good joke (???) that it's a recurring theme.  ("LOL, Sharon can't cook.  Because we hate Sharon, let's make imbecilic, repetitive comments about her cooking.  Aren't we clever?" So much fun to read.)  

The restaurants in this hicksville town are of course pathetic, too, and are run by people who don't know the difference between Japan and China.  Rural people, amiright?  SO unsophisticated and racist-- and they never know how to make good food.  Nope, there's nothing decent to eat in America's Heartland.  (Of course, Lane knows China from Japan, because she's smarter than all of these hicks-- except that, no, she actually makes many, many stupid decisions.  Oh well, at least she's still sexier than every other woman in town.)

There are repeated attacks on the sacred casserole-- "dozens of cheese-and-mayonnaise-clogged casseroles".  Ma'am, this has to stop.  Now.  I don't know what a casserole ever did to hurt you, but casseroles aren't automatically bad.  Casseroles can be damn fine eatin', to put it elegantly.  Excellent comfort food.  Now, I probably wouldn't put mayo in one, because I don't really like mayonnaise... but "cheese-clogged"?  What a joyless person you'd have to be to think this way! (Unless you're dairy intolerant, you poor soul, you.)   

Oh, and this character who turns her nose up at every food around?  She must be practically a chef herself, right?  Or at least one of those annoying, sanctimonious people who ruin a good "food high" by extolling the virtues of so-called "clean-eating"?  No, she apparently lives on booze and the very occasional boring, slapped-together sandwich.  (Imagine insulting casseroles when you can't even think beyond a sandwich and a beer!)

--Please, stop with the sex scenes!
The only thing I hate more than these characters is reading endlessly about their sex lives.  Can we please just not?  I can handle a little of this stuff; this was not a little.  It's boring (and makes me hate these nasty, disgusting characters even more).  I resent being made a voyeur for these characters I don't even like. 
 

--Disturbing, questionable subject matter.  
The various girls' reactions to (fill in the blank-- the person and the situation) made me raise my eyebrows in skepticism.  Abuse is romanticized, though not very skillfully, in my opinion.  I just can't believe all these girls/women would behave this way.  Not plausible.  Also, this portrayal feels insensitive-- insulting, even-- to actual victims of abuse.  I don't know what the goal of this book was (besides making money and titillating with one of the last remaining taboos in our culture), but it ended up being nothing more than a disgusting mess.  


--Laughable fight scene.
I can't go into details without spoiling things, but let's just say there is a fight scene at some point in this book that had me laughing-- and it wasn't supposed to be funny.  I just couldn't take it seriously.  It felt like it was carefully choreographed-- written for the screen, but... Nope.  So silly. 

--Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 
The book dragged for me.  I realized early in that I didn't like the characters, but I thought, eh, it's going pretty fast.  I'll just keep reading and see where it goes.  I did stick with it until the end, but it certainly didn't keep feeling like a quick read, beyond that first section of the book.  There is a lot of repetition, with genuinely interesting scenes doled out sparingly.  Cutting out some of the sex scenes would've helped keep the plot tighter.  (Just sayin'...)

Again, the end of the book feebly tries to "do something" with/derive some type of meaning from all the mess that comes before, but it's not enough for me.  This is not something I'd ever recommend or want to revisit.  I will say that I felt compelled to keep reading until I was so far in that I preferred gritting my teeth to admitting defeat.  I suppose that's something, even if it didn't quite deliver anything worth the effort.  However, I'm relieved to be done with it so I can move on to something where I don't hate almost every character quite so much!

The Lost

The Lost
by Jonathan Aycliffe

Blurb:

British-born Michael Feraru, scion of a long line of Romanian aristocrats, leaves his country of birth and his love, to reclaim his heritage-- a Draculian castle deep in the heart of Transylvania.  He plans to turn his inheritance into an orphanage in the new post-Ceausescu, post-communist country.  There he enlists the help of a young local lawyer, Liliana Popescu, to search for the missing Feraru millions, and battle through the complex maze of old bureaucracy in the scam-rich, newly-born state.

Feraru describes his journey into the heart of the Romanian countryside, wasted by years of neglect and caught in a time-warp, as though the twentieth century had never reached it. When he eventually arrives at his inheritance, he finds that the castle of the Ferarus, in a sunless valley in the Carpathian Mountains, is home to much more than memories...

My Reaction:

Well, unfortunately this was another disappointment, like my last read from this author.  I've enjoyed some of his other novels, though it's been so long that I remember little of them.  I do wonder if my tastes have changed, but based on other readers' reactions, it seems that those other books likely are objectively superior to these.  

I did like this marginally better than The Silence of Ghosts, but given how I felt about that book, saying so is only the faintest of praise.  There are some eerie moments, and it felt like there was the potential for something satisfying, but it never quite made it.  Ultimately, it bored me!  Even though this is a novella, it still manages to feel slow and repetitious.  The occasional creepy moments never fully deliver.  

The format (journals, transcriptions of tapes, translated letters, etc.) was a mixed bag for me.  I tend to like the epistolary format, but sometimes it can strain credulity.  The main character sometimes writes things in great detail when he couldn't/shouldn't have time to waste in writing.  Other times, he's speaking into a voice recorder when the person he's talking about would probably overhear... It's just odd and doesn't always work or make much sense.  

Towards the end, there's insufficient explanation as to why certain characters behave as they do, which adds to the frustration (and my "meh, who really cares what happens to these people?!" reaction).  Sure, I'm willing to do some "work", and I can read between the lines, but I dislike it when writers can't be bothered to tell a full story.  The plot-- such as it is-- just plods along until it fizzles out with a conclusion that's probably supposed to be shocking, but is instead disappointingly predictable and unimpressive.  

This one gets 2.5 stars, rounded down.  Too short on chills!

The Last House on Needless Street

The Last House on Needless Street

by Catriona Ward

Blurb:

This is the story of a serial killer.  A stolen child.  Revenge.  Death.  And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street.  You think you've read this story before.  That's where you're wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried.  But it's not what you think...

My Reaction:

It's difficult to write a review/reaction for this novel without crossing into spoiler territory, and I'd rather not do that, so this will be brief.  

I found this an interesting and unique read and would recommend it to readers looking for something different from the usual.  It's not your typical crime or mystery novel, and if you're anything like me, you won't be completely sure what's happening through much of the book.  You'll form hypotheses, and some of them might even be correct or partly right, but I doubt you'll have it all figured out until near the very end.  If you like books that keep you guessing and make you question what's real and what's not, this would be a good choice.  (There are answers, by the way.  I wouldn't be happy with it, otherwise!)

Overall?  Less scary than sad.  More mystery-thriller than horror-thriller.  Makes you SO angry at times, but then you're forced to re-evaluate (and it's not necessarily pleasant to have everything turned upside-down in that way!).  Makes you think.  At some points, you'll be confused, but it all comes together, eventually.  There are some coincidences that feel contrived, quite a bit of possibly annoying misdirection or "unreliability", too... But overall, its strengths are greater than its flaws.

Ok, I can't resist mentioning just a few things that annoyed me.  

Some. 

Of. 

Them. 

Are.

SPOILERS.

Ok, here we go.  

--There are a few British turns of phrase that feel out of place in a novel set in the US and told from American perspectives.  

--I can't accept that Dee brought a hammer to kill snakes with.  That's insane.  Use a hoe, woman!!  

--Then she manages to kill a rattlesnake with said hammer.  (Yeah, right.  That happened, as they say...)  

--And THEN, this woman who has suffered from a snake phobia for all of her adult life, picks up the dead snake to keep as a trophy and have it made into a belt, or something.  Excuse me, what?!  I don't have a clinical phobia of snakes-- just a very healthy fear of the venomous ones-- and I couldn't bear to bring myself to touch a dead venomous snake with my skin.  No way on Earth.  The few times I've had to dispose of one, I've picked it up with a shovel.  I simply couldn't imagine picking it up in my hand, even with gloves on.  Not happening.  So, no, I can't accept that someone who has a snake phobia would do that, either, even if she didn't know that snake heads can still "bite" (due to reflexes) for a while after the snake has been killed.  It's impossible to even contemplate.  Why would she?  

...But aside from a few things like that, a good read!  I'm still not sure what I think about the subject at the heart of the book.  I think it might be too complicated to ever fully comprehend.  Maybe something that has to be experienced to be understood.  

The Silence of Ghosts

The Silence of Ghosts

by Jonathan Aycliffe

(Edited) Blurb:

Those who live in silence hear them best...

After Dominic is severely wounded in service during WWII, his family sends him away from London and the Blitz, to the relative safety of their country home.  His instructions are to look after his partially deaf sister, Octavia, while he comes to terms with his new reality.  The crumbling family estate on the shores of Ullswater is old, neglected, and doesn’t seem a promising place for happiness or recovery.

However, despite his reservations, Dominic's life soon seems to be taking a turn for the better.  He has an attractive and kind new nurse named Rose, and there's hope that Octavia's asthma and hearing might be improving.  But even as Dominic catches his first glimpses of a happy future, there's an eerie darkness creeping at the edges of his consciousness.  Slowly, he realizes that there's something deeply wrong with this house...  Octavia is hearing the voices of children-- voices that no-one else can hear-- and there is worse to come.  Can Dominic solve the mystery of these phantom voices before it's too late?

My Reaction:

I enjoyed a few of the author's earlier works, but unfortunately, this one really didn't work for me.  The biggest problem is that it's a ghost story that inspires very little fear.  Apart from one or two creepy moments, it falls flat.  Most of the efforts at horror are repetitive (the dancing!!!) and not particularly scary, in my opinion.  (I think it's rare that I'll be creeped out by a detailed description of a ghost's old-fashioned clothing, and an author needs to be very clever indeed to make me shiver in fear when a ghost "plain-talks" as much as Sir William's ghost does.)

I found this novel poorly written in other respects, as well, I'm sorry to say.  I realize it was set during WWII, so a mention or two of ration-related difficulties would be fine, but the author got carried away.  The frequent references to rationing and the specifics of what everyone was eating/drinking, morning, noon, and night-- no, thank you!  It's a ghost story, not a cozy mystery or a cookbook!  Similarly, there were just too many references to Hitler and the war for a book that isn't "about" WWII.  

Dominic's parents are such absolute caricatures of Evil Rich People that I laughed out loud.  They were so completely over-the-top!  Also, I wasn't expecting so much romance, and I ended up just skimming those parts of the book. (Well, to be honest, I skimmed a lot of the second half of this novel.  I wouldn't have finished if I hadn't.)  I like a good romance as much as the next person, but this one wasn't for me.  I was cringing over the lovesick, lust-fueled conversations. 

I hate to be so negative when I've enjoyed some of this author's other books, but this one was a big disappointment.  Maybe I was expecting too much, because I enjoyed the other books.  Oh well!  I still haven't read The Talisman, and that one sounds promising.

The Lying Game

The Lying Game

by Ruth Ware

Blurb:

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...

The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”

The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).

My Reaction:

No, sorry, I didn't like it!  I knew early on that I wasn't enjoying it, but stubbornly kept with it, because I didn't know what else to read instead.  However-many pages later... Nope, still didn't like it.  

Reasons for my dislike:

• Couldn't stand the characters, most of whom are some combination of horrible, annoying, and stupid.  Obnoxious teen girls who lie for no reason, just to make fools of people and secretly mock their gullibility?  Gee, I wonder why other people didn't like them!  They seem delightful. 
• Got really tired of reading endless, pointless descriptions of the baby and breastfeeding.  (Who cares?!  So monotonous.)  
• Sick of how things draaaaaaged, with the more interesting bits doled out excruciatingly slowly.
• Frustrated by characters who refused to just spit it out, face the music, and SPEAK to one another.  Clearly.  Concisely.  Honestly.  I know it's called The Lying Game, but come on!
  
• Irritated because, hello!  Drinking and smoking are not personality traits, and they don't make your characters more interesting to read about.  Exactly the opposite.
• Grumbling after finishing because too many things don't make sense, under the slightest scrutiny.  Stupid decision after stupid decision!
• Getting no sense of why I should give a single solitary flip about any of these characters.  (Ok, maybe I could be persuaded to care ever so slightly about Owen and Fatima... And it's not Freya's fault that she's boring to read about; she's only six months old, after all.)
• Disappointed by the predictability.  Lack of a satisfying mystery.  
• Not buying the ultra-strong bond of four 15-year-old girls who were only together for one school year and have rarely met up since, but yet are still so incredibly close all these years later.  

This bit is a spoiler, so... look away, if you care!

• Wanting to scream that, no, Kate and Luc aren't actually siblings!  I don't think they even spent much of their childhoods growing up together.  I don't think it's that big of a deal, honestly, that they ended up in a relationship, and it's kind of funny (make that "annoying") to me that Ambrose- - the grown man who smiled benignly as 15-year-old girls-- his students!--  sneaked out of school, spent many nights in his home without any parental awareness, much less consent, drank booze and smoked, skinny dipped, etc.-- the man who sketched these vulnerable teens either in the nude or in such a way that they looked nude in the drawings-- that this absolute paragon of virtue was so terribly shocked (and disgusted?) that Kate and Luc were romantically involved.  Really?  Again, who cares?  So what?!  No, I wouldn't be happy they were sleeping together at that age.  I certainly wouldn't want them living together and "indulging" under my roof, especially if I felt like a parent to both of them, but his reaction seems somewhat over the top, given everything else he was perfectly okay with them doing.  He could have laid down some rules, told them they had to wait until they were older, something other than acting as though this was actually incest or criminal behavior.  

One positive-- I think the tone and atmosphere were effective.  The visual of the Mill House was striking.  The problem is that nothing else really worked for me.  And the last few lines were just a slap in the face.  UGH.  Ready for something completely different!  I think I need a break from modern so-called thrillers, after this one.