The Haunted
3 1/2 stars. Extra credit for great ideas.The story line, while very similar to the film "The Others," was very good. However there were none of what I look for in a haunted house story. The creeping dread, the slow build of suspense, the point where we move from thinking things are a bit odd to knowing that forces are at work, the reveal of a history that created the haunting. The haunting in this book slammed into you right away, kept escalating, and I spent most of the book in full-on confrontation mode which left really no time to digest what I was even presented with. Here is a very scary ghost, here is an even scarier ghost, here are a dozen more, then we add the hooded figures that are supposed to be worse than the ghosts but we don't know why yet, then we have a couple pages of the history behind it (that actually left me wondering who even compiled the historical album the characters found). I never had a moment to absorb any of it. Then we were at the ending, the surprise element is unveiled (which was good, I thought) and the story is over.
So many good ideas but like rocketing thorough a gallery of nice paintings on a sled and merely catching glimpses as you fly past.
I will read more by this author though.
