A review by bambooboy
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

dark funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of Hendrix's great strengths in writing is his ability to both horrify and entertain. While reading this book I was on the edge of my seat, afraid to turn the page; all the while chuckling here and there at his whip-smart talent for dialogue. The characters are thoughtfully written, and their development over the course of the novel is organic and raw. Family secrets have a way of eroding as they drip down. Can these two siblings put aside their differences and rebuild the trust that was lost, before it's too late?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Self harm, and Car accident

Minor: Vomit

MANY SPOILERS, any possibly triggering items I could remember under spoiler cut.

--A child dies by drowning; another child almost dies by drowning.
--Dolls, taxidermy squirrels, and puppets come to life.
--A needle is poked into an eyeball.
--A character thinks they are hallucinating/losing their mind.
--A hand is amputated by a chainsaw.
--There is an attempt to exorcise an assumed demon from a child and puppet.
--A child is possessed.
--A severely dysfunctional family is portrayed in detail.
--There is a traumatic car accident.
--A child is made to self-harm during a possession; technically a puppet is doing it, but it's on her hand.
--An intentional house fire kills two people.
--Implied pet death and consumption; you only see a collar and bones.
--Injuries and death from a car accident are described, though not in complete detail, and after the fact.