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A review by daffodilcherry
A House of Ghosts by William Ryan, W.C. Ryan
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Not a positive book review coming up. I wanted to like this book so much, I love the concept, and I'm a huge fan of haunted houses, historical fiction, ghosts and closed door murder mysteries. If you like these things, this book is not for you. This book is however, a masterclass in how to build expectations with absolutely no payoff. Or payoff that is immediately thwarted three chapters later by the main character who is the best at everything.
If you are wondering if this book gets better: it doesn't. Oh but maybe- no. Skip to the last five chapters/30 pages and everything will be summed up. Yeah, that was kind of boring. Does it get scary? No. Do the eponymous ghosts have any bearing on the plot? No. Is the mystery entertaining and good? No. Is there a huge twist at the end that makes everything make sense? No. Does ghosts being everywhere and Kate being able to see them ever get explained or used to drive the plot forward? No. Do the two main characters have an interesting dynamic? No, but there's a forced heterosexual romance and sexual tension because??? I guess they're the only two fuckable people around? Wow there's a lot of named characters here, are any of them going to be relevant? No, while there are 22 named characters, the entire book could be slimmed down to a cast of ten easily. Is this a closed door murder mystery where the murder is committed by an intruder? Yes, and it is a sin to the entire genre.
Should you dump this book? Yes, because otherwise you will end up hate reading it and it's not even that satisfying.
If you are wondering if this book gets better: it doesn't. Oh but maybe- no. Skip to the last five chapters/30 pages and everything will be summed up. Yeah, that was kind of boring. Does it get scary? No. Do the eponymous ghosts have any bearing on the plot? No. Is the mystery entertaining and good? No. Is there a huge twist at the end that makes everything make sense? No. Does ghosts being everywhere and Kate being able to see them ever get explained or used to drive the plot forward? No. Do the two main characters have an interesting dynamic? No, but there's a forced heterosexual romance and sexual tension because??? I guess they're the only two fuckable people around? Wow there's a lot of named characters here, are any of them going to be relevant? No, while there are 22 named characters, the entire book could be slimmed down to a cast of ten easily. Is this a closed door murder mystery where the murder is committed by an intruder? Yes, and it is a sin to the entire genre.
Should you dump this book? Yes, because otherwise you will end up hate reading it and it's not even that satisfying.