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purplesky02's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the last 1/3 of the book much better than the first 2/3.
This was almost like two different books rolled into one. One the one side, you have a couple that moves into an old house. They start to hear mysterious voices coming through various electronic means. The other book is the story of a couple who've just had a baby and are experiencing marital problems. Their problems both add to and detract from the plot. I found it a bit distracting at times to have to read through their arguments and frustrations with one another. I get that it created a distance between the two of them that led to an overall lack of communication, but they both annoyed me so much! There are two people who should not be together.
The other part, the haunted house/mysterious voices/Edward Mayberry, was much more interesting! Very creepy indeed. But when you mixed the two aspects of the book together, I was a little frustrated.
I didn't understand why Christopher did not talk more with Laura about what he'd learned about Mayberry. And what a jerk, just dismissing his wife's concerns about their safety and their daughter's safety.
And the end...so creepy! Once Faye disappeared, the book picked up the pace and I got through the rest much quicker. But what exactly happened? Did Mayberry learn some sort of black magic from the book he bought at auction? What were the other voices? Most of what was said was seemingly random, especially the fact that other languages were spoken. What was on the film that Laura had Simon retrieve? I figured it would relate to the plot somehow, but as far as I could tell, its content wasn't even discussed? And what happened with Laura? Are we to deduce that because Faye's body was found at the end that she would be released? What was up with the matching dirt on Simon and Christopher's shoes? Why was that specifically mentioned, and why did it bother Amanda? What did Sue have to do with anything? I wish there had been more answers.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I would've enjoyed it more had the characters (aside from Faye) not been so unlikable.
This was almost like two different books rolled into one. One the one side, you have a couple that moves into an old house. They start to hear mysterious voices coming through various electronic means. The other book is the story of a couple who've just had a baby and are experiencing marital problems. Their problems both add to and detract from the plot. I found it a bit distracting at times to have to read through their arguments and frustrations with one another. I get that it created a distance between the two of them that led to an overall lack of communication, but they both annoyed me so much! There are two people who should not be together.
The other part, the haunted house/mysterious voices/Edward Mayberry, was much more interesting! Very creepy indeed. But when you mixed the two aspects of the book together, I was a little frustrated.
I didn't understand why Christopher did not talk more with Laura about what he'd learned about Mayberry. And what a jerk, just dismissing his wife's concerns about their safety and their daughter's safety.
Spoiler
And the end...so creepy! Once Faye disappeared, the book picked up the pace and I got through the rest much quicker. But what exactly happened? Did Mayberry learn some sort of black magic from the book he bought at auction? What were the other voices? Most of what was said was seemingly random, especially the fact that other languages were spoken. What was on the film that Laura had Simon retrieve? I figured it would relate to the plot somehow, but as far as I could tell, its content wasn't even discussed? And what happened with Laura? Are we to deduce that because Faye's body was found at the end that she would be released? What was up with the matching dirt on Simon and Christopher's shoes? Why was that specifically mentioned, and why did it bother Amanda? What did Sue have to do with anything? I wish there had been more answers.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I would've enjoyed it more had the characters (aside from Faye) not been so unlikable.
victoriakra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ktswings's review against another edition
3.0
More 2.5, need better horror stories on tap for my kindle
kendall_reads8's review against another edition
4.0
Listen to the audio book. Creepy thanks to great narrator.
add_a_little_spook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
lydzzz357's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization
geekymomontheprairie's review against another edition
3.0
I was freaked our by the premise of the book as hearing voices through baby monitors is a personal fear of mine. It definitely is on the slow side, that is until the last fourth of the book. And that last part is extremely unsettling. Apart from the pacing issues, it also has poor character development. But, it's worth a read for the horror element. 3.5/5
aliciablack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
glitterkitter's review against another edition
2.0
it's some pretty typical horror fair tbh, couple moves into a new house with their new baby and there's something weird going on. the wife's concern is dismissed, the husband is ignoring all concerns and actively provoking the thing, their marriage is falling apart, etc. it's trying to be a bit more character focussed than plot focussed and the plot really suffers. it seems like there should have been a mystery about what's actually happening in the house, but because nothing ever escalates with that part of the plot (until right at the end), there's no unfolding of any mystery.
mellabella's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure this should book should be in the horror genre. The only scares (or something close to a scare) I got were when baby Faye disappeared and, when Simon visited the house.
Christopher and his wife Laura move into a new home.
She is pregnant with their first child.
From the start Laura senses something wrong with the house.
I wish more info was given about Maybury the magician. the (horrible) ending might have mad more sense.
Christopher is not a likable character. I disliked him. Laura wasn't that likable. But she wasn't horrible like Christopher. You felt for her character. She was in the house everyday, sometimes alone caring for their daughter. She has no one but her husband and daughter.
This story was somewhat creepy (I'm struggling to say even that). But, there are better out there.
Christopher and his wife Laura move into a new home.
She is pregnant with their first child.
From the start Laura senses something wrong with the house.
I wish more info was given about Maybury the magician. the (horrible) ending might have mad more sense.
Christopher is not a likable character. I disliked him. Laura wasn't that likable. But she wasn't horrible like Christopher. You felt for her character. She was in the house everyday, sometimes alone caring for their daughter. She has no one but her husband and daughter.
This story was somewhat creepy (I'm struggling to say even that). But, there are better out there.