dankeohane's review
4.0
An excellent, back-to-the-basics haunted old house story - a Gothic horror which doesn’t get too mired in on itself. The Devil’s Serenade builds a sense of dread, with genuine scares, right up to the climax.
wellwortharead's review
4.0
As a young lonely child Maddie looked forward to her time spent at Aunt Charlotte's house. Maddie is an only child but her imagination creates the siblings she wishes she had. She is often scolded for talking to herself, but at Aunt Maddie's house she is free to chatter away to her imaginary brother and sisters while her parents are off on Safari. Now that Maddie is a grown woman and has inherited her Aunt's house she struggles to remember what happened the summer she turned 16 and why she never visited Charlotte again. Strange things are seen and heard in the house and rumors abound concerning Aunt Charlotte and the previous owner. Maddie begins to wonder if she is losing her mind or if something more sinister is at work. I would rate it 4 out of 5 spooky stars.
I received an advance copy for review
I received an advance copy for review
sarah984's review
2.0
I was really liking this book at the start, some of the scares (particularly involving the basement) were great and felt original. However once the book passed about the 70% mark and things started being revealed, everything just got too unbelievable and weird to me. Like, in a horror story I can definitely believe a magical tree integrating into the basement, but you expect me to believe that a long lost relative that a character was told she'd never see again lived to middle age in the /same small town/ and no one knew? Too weird. (It also all sort of got really sexual and unfortunate, which I guess is a gothic thing?)
stellar_raven's review
3.0
Overall an enjoyable read. Nicely creepy, if not outright scary.
Recently divorced Maddie moves into the very gothic looking home she inherited from her late Aunt. Maddie used to spend summers there as a child, up until something happened on her sixteenth birthday. Something she cannot remember. Once she gets there strange things begin to happen. Is she going crazy? Do neighbor Shona and handyman Charlie have anything to do with the bizarre happenings at her house?
Before I go any further, I have to say that I appreciate the fact that the main character was a woman in her late 40's/early 50's, and not a dewy eyed innocent very young woman. It was a nice change of pace.
I like the premise of the story, but felt it suffered some by being too short. The kindle edition I read says it's 208 pages long. I felt the book needed more time to build its world and develop its characters. I think that I would have felt more horror while reading the book had I had more time to connect to these characters. It also took awhile to really get into the history of the house, and by the time it did, the book was nearly over, and the conclusion seemed to happen in a hurry.
That being said, I did enjoy the book enough to want to try out other offerings by this author.
Recently divorced Maddie moves into the very gothic looking home she inherited from her late Aunt. Maddie used to spend summers there as a child, up until something happened on her sixteenth birthday. Something she cannot remember. Once she gets there strange things begin to happen. Is she going crazy? Do neighbor Shona and handyman Charlie have anything to do with the bizarre happenings at her house?
Before I go any further, I have to say that I appreciate the fact that the main character was a woman in her late 40's/early 50's, and not a dewy eyed innocent very young woman. It was a nice change of pace.
I like the premise of the story, but felt it suffered some by being too short. The kindle edition I read says it's 208 pages long. I felt the book needed more time to build its world and develop its characters. I think that I would have felt more horror while reading the book had I had more time to connect to these characters. It also took awhile to really get into the history of the house, and by the time it did, the book was nearly over, and the conclusion seemed to happen in a hurry.
That being said, I did enjoy the book enough to want to try out other offerings by this author.
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