Helpful Score: 2
Though this is not your typical haunted house story it's frighthening nonetheless. The identity the malevolent spirit infesting the house really surprised me. Generations of the Kidd family have lived in the house. The entity won't let any of the Kidds escape the house or what it thinks is right for them. The story opens with 2 Kidd brothers left in the family who have no choice but to live in the house. Ray Kidd is rebellious towards the house's dictates and suffers hardships because of his attitude. Jack, the older brother, has accepted his fate as dictated throughout his life by the house. That is, until he meets Rachel, a lovely widow with 2 young children. It is Rachel who takes the initiative in overcoming the entity's control. Between Jack's upcoming wedding to Rachel, fear for the entity's influence on Rachel's children, and Rachel's courageous defiance, Jack is finally motivated to challenge the evil in the house. Though the strange identity of the evil presence is finally revealed, it's oddness it's totally in keeping with the plot and theme of the book. A fun and, at times, scary read.
Helpful Score: 1
Unlike any haunted house book I've ever read. Keeps you trying to figure out just who and what is haunting the family that has lived for generations in the old mansion. Spooky.