Reviewer: Andrea
I received this novel in exchange for an honest review.
The Summary:
Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead.
When she arriv es at the Sinclairs’ enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her “too-good-to-be-true” position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.
The Review:
I feel it my duty as a diligent reviewer to protect you, the readers, and warn you not to make the same mistakes I made. DO NOT READ THIS NOVEL WHEN YOU ARE ALONE, LATE AT NIGHT, IN A DARK HOUSE, OR ANY COMBO OF THE BEFORE STATED CAVEATS. It is horror at its best, Gothic with a capital “G”. This novel is a wonderful throwback to Romantic/Victorian supernaturalism. From the woods to the spirits, it is everything I remember loving about those amazing classics like Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Right down to her references to Dickens’s Christmas Carol, Webb weaves a twisted, dark journey into the human consciousness, along the path of cra-cra, and back out again . . . maybe.
It’s been a long time—too long—since a novel kept me guessing like this one did. I marked passage after passage as would-be clues to solve the novel’s mysteries. The misdirection is well-done, and the creepiness factor hits the roof about halfway in then bursts right on through it. I literally didn’t want to move from my recliner for fear of what nefarious being might be lurking in the shadows of my hallway, reaffirming my need to stay away from horror literature.
To be completely honest, though, I was afraid of more than the ghosts in Havenwood as I neared the end when I reached the big reveal of Julia’s history. The story became a little contrived. As a logical being, I realize the ridiculousness of that statement considering the novel centers around a haunted house, but alas, I was feeling a bit let down with the backstory. It all seemed forced and unnatural, and my “wiling suspension of disbelief” began to flag—until I read the epilogue then it was game on once more! If you love the classics or if you just want the shiitake scared out of you, definitely give this one a try. But don’t say you haven’t been warned . . .
