Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Invited

Easily one of the best thriller/ghost whatever books I've read!!! The writing alone would have made this a 3 stars, but the character development, the background research that was so perfectly done, the plot points and twists, the way that coincidence isn't used the way that most other thrillers rely on it!!! All perfection!

Content Warnings

alba_marie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

"Some people move into a haunted house. But you, Helen, want to build one."

This witchy, creepy, boggy book is full of ghosts and witches, lost treasure, woodland spirits and waterlogged secrets. I love ghosts and ghost stories, and it's pretty much a guarantee that I'll love a ghost tale!

Helen and Nate are city people, teachers at a high school, who are looking for a different life. When Helen comes into an inheritance, they decide to move to the country. Helen is a history buff, Nate is a nature buff. She wants a historic house, Nate wants a new build. They compromise by buying some cheap land on the Breckonridge Bog and building a new house in a traditional style. Added onto that, they will incorporate some pieces of local history into the house. Too bad some of those items are haunted...

They say that the Breckonridge Bog is haunted by the spirit of Hattie Breckonridge, an accused witch who was hanged for witchcraft in 1924 after her daughter caused a fire that killed three people. Why was she a witch? Right, because she predicted the fire, told everyone about it, and no one listened to her until it was too late.

The last female at this book's core is Olive, a wayward teen whose mother has recently walked out on her family, leaving Olive and her dad to fend for themselves.

The story of these women and others are intertwined together in a dark and desperate tale. So many people have become struck, terrified and even a little bit obsessed, with Hattie and her story. Hattie has captured the imagination and fear of the townspeople for almost a century, and her spirit permeates much of the town's philosophy.

When Helen arrives, feeling lost and unsure of herself, she so desperately wants to find her way, to make a connection, to do something more with her life. She becomes interested then obsessed with Hattie, and in her, she finds the connection and sense of purpose she felt her old life lacked. Hattie also appeals to Helen's interest in history, igniting her passion for lives of yesteryears, and passing that love on to the younger generation, aka Olive.

Olive is also lost. Though 14, she acts like a much younger girl. And it's no wonder - she's gone through some major upheaval with her mother walking out and her dad's depression, not to mention the bullying she suffers as "Odd Oliver" just because she's a little different.

Riley, her aunt, is also a woman a little different, but unlike the others, she seems more confident in her own skin. Though that said, she covers her body in tattoos, so one could read that as if she masked her own body. Just like all of the women, the question seems to be who is the real Riley?

But Hattie is the real centre. Despite only being alive for the first 10 or so pages, it is Hattie Breckonridge and her descendants that carry this story, that for the keystone of the book. Without Hattie, there is no book. Though her intentions are often opaque and we are generally left wondering what the heck Hattie wants or means, it is her who draws all of these people together, from the first to the very last page.

Content Warnings

desmatamlu's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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