A review by whatellisreadnext
Devil House by John Darnielle

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺; 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳; 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦?

We follow Chandler, a true crime writer, who has just started his latest project, moving into a house that the locals call 'The Devil House'. 

I may sound like a broken record if you follow my stories, but the first thing I want to say about this book is that it isn't a haunted house novel, and I'm so glad I knew this going into it initially. This is a study on true crime and how it affects the people left behind.

I personally thought this was brilliant, it was weird and messed up and surprisingly emotional towards the end. It went to so many places I didn't think it would, and I found myself so engrossed in this story even though whilst reading I wasn't entirely sure it had a point, I just enjoyed being in it. And when it came to the ending, I felt full on bamboozled in the best way. 

The only reason this didn't get a 5 star rating was because it took a lot of brain power at times and was pretty dense writing wise. It just didn't have that effortless 5 star feeling, but it came pretty damn close. I think if you enjoy all things macabre, you'll definitely enjoy Devil House.

Thanks so much to @scribe_uk for the gifted copy!

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