Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

 

The plot:  A recovering addict who's been clean for eighteen months, Mallory Quinn, just got a job as a nanny for Caroline and Ted Maxwell's five-year-old son, Teddy, for the summer. She's desperate to prove herself, and they're willing to give her a chance despite her past drug use. And it's all because of Teddy. He's a sweet, shy boy who likes to wear purple and draw pictures of rabbits. He also draws pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya; those aren't as cute. Then his pictures get even darker, showing a man dragging a woman into the forest and then burying her. And Mallory begins to suspect that Teddy is being haunted by something sinister. Was Anya murdered? Mallory gets drawn into solving the mystery in order to protect Teddy, but his parents start to question her honesty...and her sanity. 

My thoughts:  I loved Teddy and how cute he is with Mallory; I also really loved getting to see his artwork throughout the book...and the eerie story his pictures start to tell. And a mystery with a touch of the supernatural like this one has is one of my favorite kinds of books to read. I appreciated the atmosphere and suspense Rekulak creates and how he keeps you guessing about the truth behind the haunting until the very end. This is such a compelling read. I loved it.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

 "Gallows Hill is cursed."

From the blurb:  It's been more than a decade since Margot Hull last saw her childhood home. And she was young enough when she was sent away that she barely remembers its dark passageways and secret corners. But now she's returned to bury her parents who died in her childhood home from mysterious circumstances. She's also inherited Gallows Hill and the winery that is her family's legacy...along with all the dark secrets that lie buried beneath the crumbling estate. Secrets she was never told.

My thoughts:  Margot should never have returned to Gallows Hill, not even for her parents' funeral. The name alone hints at its macabre past. And there are worse horrors hidden within. This book is seriously scary. From the ringing of the bells throughout the house, to the blood in the attic, to the reflection Margot keeps seeing in the mirror of her own corpse. And that's just the beginning! The house may be haunted, but what emerges from the tunnels beneath Gallows Hill is like a disturbing nightmare come to life. Coates does an amazing job of building suspense throughout the book, and creating an atmospheric and haunting setting. It gave me chills. And what an ending! I loved this one; it's a great October read.

Happy Reading!

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

 "Strange noises, bad vibes, your mom and dad recently passed--Your house is haunted and I'm not selling it until you deal with that."

 

The plot in brief:  Louise and her brother, Mark, don't get along. They haven't even spoken in years. But when their parents die, Louise flies back home to Charleston to help with the funeral. Only it's not just Mark she has to deal with, or getting their childhood home ready to sell, it's also the haunting memories from her past that she's been repressing. Oh, and all of her mother's dolls and puppets...the ones that always seem to be watching...and waiting. 

My thoughts:  I struggled with this one...partly because of my mood and mental state, and the fact that I've been running tired and stressed lately. It's been hard to enjoy any book that's not super light or fluffy. And this book is neither. But I thought the premise of this one sounded ghostly and fun...and I like the way Hendrix writes. Usually. 

Only I found it difficult to connect with the main characters in this one; Louise and Mark are both pretty unlikable at the beginning, though by the end I did like them a little more. And for a horror story, I thought the book's pacing was pretty slow. All the internal dialogue and flashbacks made it drag, especially at the start, although it does pick up about halfway through. And the ending does have some good moments of suspense. Then there's Pupkin, their mom's favorite puppet; he was truly creepy! So there are good things about this one. I just didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. But maybe you will.

Happy Reading!

The Hendrix novel I loved:

The Final Girl Support Group. 

This one is fabulous!

Ghostly Suspense...

When his mother dies, young Michael Vyner does not want to go live at Hawton Mere with Sir Stephen Clarendon or his sister, Charlotte. But Sir Stephen is now his legal guardian, and Michael has nowhere else to go. But Michael soon finds out that Hawton Mere is not exactly a warm and welcoming home.

"As soon as I walked through the door I sensed it:  a strange energy that filled the air and shone like a black light from every shadow. There was a whispering that rose and fell in volume--though I felt it rather than heard it. All my senses told me there was danger--deadly danger--and yet I saw nothing untoward, save for a grim and unwelcoming hallway."

The servants at Hawton Mere are kind, but Sir Stephen is ill and possibly mad, and while Charlotte tries to be friendly, it's clear to Michael that she is uncomfortable around children. And then strange things start to happen. Michael hears banging in an empty hall, sees a reflection of something moving in an old mirror when nothing is there, and glimpses a ghostly figure with a sad, pale face in the snowy courtyard below his bedroom window.

"What kind of place was this where the dead roamed among the living?"

The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestly is the kind of ghost story I like best: quiet, haunting, and suspenseful. I guessed part of the mystery surrounding Sir Stephen, but not all of it. And Priestly is a good writer. His young narrator, Michael, is engaging and likeable. And the ending didn't disappoint like ghost stories sometimes do. I ended up really liking this book.

Happy Reading!

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps first sees the woman in black at the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow. He sees her again when he visits Eel Marsh House. Her face is pale as bone and wasted, but her unnaturally bright gaze is full of bitter malevolence and hatred.

"Who she was--or what--I did not ask myself. I tried not to think about the matter at all but, with the very last of the energy that I could already feel draining out of me, I turned and began to run, to flee from the graveyard and the ruins and to put the woman at as great a distance behind as I possibly could. I concentrated everything upon my running, hearing only the thud of my own body on the grass, the escape of my own breath. And I did not look back."

Unfortunately, Arthur's job is not yet done and he must return to Eel Marsh House. As he sorts through Alice Drablow's papers he begins to uncover the haunting secrets of the past and of the ghostly woman in black. This novel has the feel of an old-fashioned ghost story, which I quite liked. (In fact, I liked it better than the movie!) It's a beautifully written, haunting tale. Arthur Kipps is earnestly likeable; and I loved the little dog, Spider, who keeps him company at Eel Marsh House. The woman in black herself is one of the more quietly terrifying ghosts ever written. This is a good Halloween read!