A review by unicornheart_books
Old Country by Matt Query

3.0

"All our lives, every hour, are subject to the whim and caprice of this spirit; we all share that, and in the end, it takes us all."

This book was a decent read but didn’t quite hit the mark in delivering the scares I was hoping for. What really stood out, though, were the characters and the connections between them. I felt surprisingly attached to Dash, Sasha, and Lucy, and loved the mother-daughter-type relationship that blossomed between Sasha and Lucy, as well as the camaraderie between Harry and Dan. And, of course, Dash the dog was a standout with his loyalty and protectiveness that warmed my heart.

Unfortunately, the book fell flat in terms of scares. Most of the spooky events followed the same formula, happening in a repetitive way that made them lose their edge. While the autumn scenes with the scarecrows did manage to creep me out—especially the final one—other than that, I just didn’t feel the tension I was expecting. 

I also thought there were some loose ends in the plot that felt too vague or didn’t quite add up, which left me with questions that weren’t fully addressed. 

Overall, this story has a great atmosphere and well-developed characters, but beyond that, it didn’t leave a lasting impression for me. It was a nice read, but not as memorable as I’d hoped.