Scan barcode
mblanke's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
mnemosyne139's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Objectively, I think this is a really good book that touches on a lot of important topics, but I also don't see myself wanting to pick it up again, so I don't feel I can quite give it 4 stars. But it DID almost make me cry at the end with one of the characters who annoyed me the most, so that's definitely something. Being white, I don't know if I can speak to how well racial topics were or were not handled, but they made sense and seemed well-handled to me. I also think this book kind of touches on the misogyny in extreme horror, though not as clearly as it does some other topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia
m0onb3am's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
unfortunately the structure, for me, detracted from the interesting premise
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
kristen_sav's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content
ominousspectre's review against another edition
3.0
Huh...this is one of those where I have no idea how I feel.
This was well written, if a bit heavy handed at times (the confrontation with Jaidee and Bryan's friends especially felt a bit buzzwordy. ).
I think where this was a question mark for me is that it's completely misrepresented in its marketing. This isn't a horror novel, it's a literary, character driven thriller. Not a bad thing, but very different expectations. Social horror requires certain aspects that this doesn't have. The full contact haunted house is barely a part of the story, to the point where it felt as though you could sub any situation in and still get the point across. Honestly, seeing the description and date of publishing made me immediately think of McKamey Manor, so I was expecting a bit more shade toward that shit show.
Anyways, there were parts that were very poignant. Boonsri's scenes especially hit an emotional place for me, as well as Kendra's in different ways. Jaidee and Leonard's descent intowhite supremacy was well written enough that it made me feel really angry and exhausted. Which I think is what the author was going for, mutual feelings of anger and exhaustion.
Did I have a good time though? :/
This was well written, if a bit heavy handed at times (
I think where this was a question mark for me is that it's completely misrepresented in its marketing. This isn't a horror novel, it's a literary, character driven thriller. Not a bad thing, but very different expectations. Social horror requires certain aspects that this doesn't have. The full contact haunted house is barely a part of the story, to the point where it felt as though you could sub any situation in and still get the point across. Honestly, seeing the description and date of publishing made me immediately think of McKamey Manor, so I was expecting a bit more shade toward that shit show.
Anyways, there were parts that were very poignant. Boonsri's scenes especially hit an emotional place for me, as well as Kendra's in different ways. Jaidee and Leonard's descent into
Did I have a good time though? :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse
b00murded's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol
frmeden's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
ghost_story's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
bcrowes11's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
journeywithrosie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Full Contact Haunted House, Courtroom mystery drama, throwback movie and book references, morally grey characters, social commentary, masterful writing... I didn't know what to expect going into this, but this book is going to stay with me for a while.
I wouldn't call this book a "horror" necessarily, and so I can understand why some people might not like it. Perhaps they went in expecting a fast pace thriller horror book. This book is slow and thoughtful, a tense psychological character study. Yes, there are some horror-filled scenes in the haunted house, but the majority of the book is detailing each character's life leading up to the event, their internal struggles and motivations, and ultimately how they all intertwined.
There are multiple timelines - before Quigley house, the court case after Quigley house, and the present day. There are also multiple POVs. That being the case, there are a lot of moving parts. You'll have to pay attention, at least I did! I usually don't like multiple timelines and POVs, but Mattson did an amazing job with it, I was hooked on each part of the story, and each character felt fully realized and developed, even the most heinous ones.
The reason I am rating 4 instead of 5 is that the more I think of it, the more I wish I got a bit more from the ending of the story. There are a lot of things I wished we were able to see that we never got to. Also, although I loved the social commentary aspects of the story, there were some scenes where it felt like it was a bit hand fisted, which made the dialogue feel forced and fake.
I'm a fan of Mattson, really looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.
I wouldn't call this book a "horror" necessarily, and so I can understand why some people might not like it. Perhaps they went in expecting a fast pace thriller horror book. This book is slow and thoughtful, a tense psychological character study. Yes, there are some horror-filled scenes in the haunted house, but the majority of the book is detailing each character's life leading up to the event, their internal struggles and motivations, and ultimately how they all intertwined.
There are multiple timelines - before Quigley house, the court case after Quigley house, and the present day. There are also multiple POVs. That being the case, there are a lot of moving parts. You'll have to pay attention, at least I did! I usually don't like multiple timelines and POVs, but Mattson did an amazing job with it, I was hooked on each part of the story, and each character felt fully realized and developed, even the most heinous ones.
The reason I am rating 4 instead of 5 is that the more I think of it, the more I wish I got a bit more from the ending of the story. There are a lot of things I wished we were able to see that we never got to. Also, although I loved the social commentary aspects of the story, there were some scenes where it felt like it was a bit hand fisted, which made the dialogue feel forced and fake.
I'm a fan of Mattson, really looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Violence, and Murder