Reviews with content warning for Vomit - How to Sell a Haunted House

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How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

55 reviews

jillaay_h's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The basic premise is that main character Louise gets the call no one wants to get and learns both of her parents have died in a car accident. She has to go back home to deal with the funeral, the estate, and the messed up family she's kept at a distance since moving away decades ago. Her younger and only sibling is the most difficult part as they continually bicker over the estate and past hurts/trauma but it gets a whole lot worse their mother's doll & puppet collection seem to be moving on their own.

So yeah, if horror series like Puppet Master and Chucky freaked you out you'll certainly find this story creepy. Be forewarned there is some eye stuff and body mutilation. And a fuck ton of grief and trauma over losing a parent/parents.

If you've ever had to go through an estate process you may relate hard to Louise's exhaustion and sorrow. At least I did and I think the author accurately captured the experience. My only complaints are: One, I felt like it dragged a bit near the end when Louise's daughter Poppy became a larger part of the story and two, while Mark's background reveal was interesting (and makes me want to know more about radical puppets) it felt disconnected from the story especially with the big reveal at the end. Like, what happened to Louise & Poppy makes sense with the reveal but Mark's made less sense once you know the real reason all these things happened.

Still, I'd recommend it especially if you already like Hendrix's other books.

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

“I’ll come right out and say it,” Mercy told them. “Strange noises, bad vibes, your mom and dad recently passed— Your house is haunted and I’m not selling it until you deal with that.”

➽ How to Sell a Haunted House was my first Grady Hendrix book! It's about Louise who has to go back to her home town and sell her childhood home after her parents died in an accident. She's not thrilled to be working with her lazy, irresponsible brother Mark and is creeped out by all the dolls her mum kept. What I liked most about the book was the Horror element. There's something unsettling about the house, as it gives off such bad energy. The dolls and puppets are genuinely creepy. I'm not afraid of dolls, but the book did a great job of making them as sinister as possible. There's also a doll called Punkin who used to be the mother's favorite. The audiobook narrator had such a creepy voice for it!

➽ The reason this book didn't 100% work for me was Mark and the sibling dynamic. I have to admit that Mark's behavior drove me up a wall. Louise has her faults and can be a bit snobbish, but Mark isn't much better. He's very irresponsible and flighty, behaving more like a man-child than an actual adult. When he gets control over the house, he keeps bullying and gloating to Louise all the time. It was SO annoying. Their fights and arguments honestly made me glad that I don't have any siblings 🙈 I just found Mark incredibly unlikable and hated how much he enjoyed having power over Louise. We later get his POV but it was far too late and also didn't fit within the story at all.

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