Two Book Reviews

I’m not sure how to describe this book. It was sort of light horror with a really spooky atmosphere that sort of has a happy ending but not really. I’m not sure I have read anything else like it in a while. But it was really good and if you are looking for something spooky but not too scary than this is the book you should have on your TBR.

The story is told from alternate points of view and for at least the first half of the book some of the chapters are snippets from the character’s childhoods. I liked the dual narration as we got to know both characters well. Even the past chapters are told from their perspectives which was nice. I liked both Melissa and Leo and totally got their friendship dynamic. Childhood friends who are still friends, but not as close as they used to be. Their search for Simon and for clues to the mystery of the house on the beach was full of angst but heartfelt and honest.

Loved the atmosphere of the whole book and the setting. It is set on a real island here in the Seattle area, which made it even better for me reading it. The writing was great as was the dialogue between the characters. I only wish that the pacing had been a tad faster. It does drag a bit throughout, but especially in the middle.

Overall, a very solid spooky read that defies a genre definition. If you like your horror on the light side, or if you like horror with realistic characters then this is one you might want to consider picking up.

I am just so happy that the author decided to write another book for this series. This was a wonderful ending to the whole series and much more satisfying than the third book’s ending. Not that that was bad, it just felt unfinished. Now I feel like the characters are happy and that their story is complete.

The mystery was quite convoluted as this author’s books always are. I did have it figured out kind of early, but I was still thrilled to follow Fin around as he figured out what had really happened. It was great to see some of the characters from the previous books as well. I also really like how he ties in incidents that happened in the past, to what is happening in the present. It just makes the story and the characters much more realistic and believable.

This story had a lot of themes, family, fidelity, friendship, bullying and also a bit of an ecological slant. I had no idea that salmon farming was so dark and dirty either. I assume that there are ethical farmers out there, but the one in this story certainly wasn’t.

This is not a light read, it is one of the darkest that I have yet to read from this author. But there is light and goodness mixed in as well, and the ending was as happy as I could expect from the story. This could be read as a standalone, but I highly suggest that you go back to the beginning and read the first book, The Black House. There are references to incidents in all of the previous books in this one, but nothing that truely impacts this story.