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tarah_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say? I loved it!
First of all, there’s a gothic mansion at the heart of a story, that’s always a great place to start. Our main character Paul inherits said mansion and surrounding grounds, Watermere, from an uncle he’s never even met. Tired of his life and his girlfriend, he decides to pack up, leave his old life behind and move into the house he has inherited and start a new life, become a writer. Little does Paul know that he won’t be alone in his new home, that there’s more to and in Watermere than he bargained for. There is something there. The spirit of his uncle’s wife, an essence of pure evil, Annabelle. Well I guess that wasn’t mentioned in uncle Myles’s final testament, was it! It doesn’t take long for Paul to realise that there are strange forces at work in Watermere. Falling in a drunken stupor and writing an entire horror novel while you are out of it, is not normal! Especially not when it seems you’ve written about events that actually happened. But it is handy! And so Paul ignores this niggling little sense of dread he has and focusses on his new girlfriend Julia. A real sweetheart! Or is she? She’s been behaving quite odd, hasn’t she? A bit out of character perhaps? A bit… bloodthirsty, shall we say? Oh I just love it when sweet innocent characters are led down a dark path, I can’t help myself, I love seeing them led astray, descend into darkness. (I think my soul’s just turned a little bit blacker) Before long there’s murder and mayhem, and the more blood is shed, the stronger Annabelle gets. So yeah, some gruesome scenes here, and some sexually fuelled obscenities, but House of Skin is also rife with a more subtle kind of horror, a sense of dread lacing the story from the very first page, making your hair stand on end practically the entire time. There is mystery as well: how are all the characters connected, what ties Julia to Watermere, what will the flashbacks to Myles and Annabelle show us? All of this leads to an explosive finale and a highly satisfying conclusion.
Highly recommended to any and all horror fans!
First of all, there’s a gothic mansion at the heart of a story, that’s always a great place to start. Our main character Paul inherits said mansion and surrounding grounds, Watermere, from an uncle he’s never even met. Tired of his life and his girlfriend, he decides to pack up, leave his old life behind and move into the house he has inherited and start a new life, become a writer. Little does Paul know that he won’t be alone in his new home, that there’s more to and in Watermere than he bargained for. There is something there. The spirit of his uncle’s wife, an essence of pure evil, Annabelle. Well I guess that wasn’t mentioned in uncle Myles’s final testament, was it! It doesn’t take long for Paul to realise that there are strange forces at work in Watermere. Falling in a drunken stupor and writing an entire horror novel while you are out of it, is not normal! Especially not when it seems you’ve written about events that actually happened. But it is handy! And so Paul ignores this niggling little sense of dread he has and focusses on his new girlfriend Julia. A real sweetheart! Or is she? She’s been behaving quite odd, hasn’t she? A bit out of character perhaps? A bit… bloodthirsty, shall we say? Oh I just love it when sweet innocent characters are led down a dark path, I can’t help myself, I love seeing them led astray, descend into darkness. (I think my soul’s just turned a little bit blacker) Before long there’s murder and mayhem, and the more blood is shed, the stronger Annabelle gets. So yeah, some gruesome scenes here, and some sexually fuelled obscenities, but House of Skin is also rife with a more subtle kind of horror, a sense of dread lacing the story from the very first page, making your hair stand on end practically the entire time. There is mystery as well: how are all the characters connected, what ties Julia to Watermere, what will the flashbacks to Myles and Annabelle show us? All of this leads to an explosive finale and a highly satisfying conclusion.
Highly recommended to any and all horror fans!
zooloo1983's review against another edition
5.0
Another month and another love letter to Mr Janz! Ok, I may reel it in this time! Promise! However, every book I read, just gets better and better.
Two storylines are running through the book, Paul and Julia’s. Julia is the first we meet and Ted Brand, Paul’s lawyer. Julia, sweet and innocent, oh so innocent at first, but is she what she seems? Paul, running away from an ex-girlfriend, everything he knows all because he has been left a ton of cash and the house Watermere. However, this is a Janz novel, things do not run smoothly….ever!
Learning the history of this house and Paul’s uncle Myles Carver was absolutely horrifying! The things that happened. I mean my stomach was turning at the beginning when Paul hit something with his car and that is before we even get into it all. The level of detail that Mr Janz goes into when describing the ghastly sights in front of us is enough to make your stomach drop. The thing is I love the gruesome, I love the scares and this is another book I loved.
I cannot tell you any more about House of Skin‘s plot as I do not want to ruin it for you. It will set your teeth on edge, it will give you goosebumps, it will make you cringe with the gore and gruesome, but most of all you will appreciate how a book can make you feel all of these things and still “enjoy” the storyline and want to know how it will end! It is the imagination of Janz I love, no two books I have read have been the same, how he is still coming up with fresh ideas, things I would never have thought about beats me. It just makes me want to keep reading his work and never stop!
I could not put this book down, and before I knew it I had read 100 pages, this is how much I adore the writing of Janz. He sucks you in, the way in which he writes it really does remind me of the 80’s/90’s horror writers and I know it has been mentioned before with his influences but I can always sense Richard Laymon in his books. I still need to read books by Jack Ketchum and Brian Keene as they are influences too.
rouge_red's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.75
Probably the most egregiously male-gazy book I've read in a while. How many times do I need to read descriptions of breast spilling out of dresses/tops, pubic hair or too tight clothing? And yet another time where we have unbelievably hot women getting with schlubby guys. (Except Myles is Old Hollywood hot.) Plus...why is Julia withholding information that she and Paul are first cousins? Surely she's not that desperate to have sex?? I don't know if men think women think like this but...They even joke about it. And when they finally do have sex, Paul realizes she's a virgin: "He knew it was her first time, but rather than alarming him, the knowledge made everything better." And at this point, this isn't Annabel sneaking into his mind. Again...why this?
Getting to the rest of the book- it's alright. Not a unique premise, but I guess the automatic writing that served also as exposition was something different? I appreciate Julia and Paul both dying at the end, the cycle repeating, etc.
Getting to the rest of the book- it's alright. Not a unique premise, but I guess the automatic writing that served also as exposition was something different? I appreciate Julia and Paul both dying at the end, the cycle repeating, etc.
shrikekali's review
3.0
This is basically a 3 and 3/4 out of 4 star book for me. It's a cross between a haunted house novel and a succubus tale, both of which were told vividly and with power. More Jonathan Janz will be in my TBR pile.
litwrite's review
3.0
Hm, this was a hard one to review. Janz definitely wears his influences on his sleeve for this 'haunted house' novel. I say haunted house because it takes place in a house that's being haunted, but the haunted house is definitely not the star of this book and didn't creep me out the way that it should. In fact a lot of the book takes place outside of the house, which I think is part of the reason that it never felt truly alive to me - it lacks that claustrophobic feeling of being trapped the way a good architectural horror novel should feel.
The author is very up front about his influences and I think there are a lot of aspects of the book that are supposed to come across as 'homage' but I think were a little heavy handed in execution (The Shining influences come to mind). I'm not saying Janz is a bad writer - he's very competent, with a strong writing style, and I found this to be a very enjoyable novel; but again my quest for the ultimate haunted house novel is ultimately thwarted. This to me was a little more baroque horror/soap opera-ish a la Dark Shadows rather than a true spooky horror novel. Campy and fun, but not scary in the least for this true haunted house devotee.
The author is very up front about his influences and I think there are a lot of aspects of the book that are supposed to come across as 'homage' but I think were a little heavy handed in execution (The Shining influences come to mind). I'm not saying Janz is a bad writer - he's very competent, with a strong writing style, and I found this to be a very enjoyable novel; but again my quest for the ultimate haunted house novel is ultimately thwarted. This to me was a little more baroque horror/soap opera-ish a la Dark Shadows rather than a true spooky horror novel. Campy and fun, but not scary in the least for this true haunted house devotee.
louffoster's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
mims_is_reading's review against another edition
5.0
This was quite a first date. My first Janz novel, but definitely not my last. His writing reminds me a bit of Peter Straub's writing, but Janz is much more in-your-face and on point. These days horror seems to be all about the vague and unseen (Malerman, Tremblay), but Janz avoids that successfully and he is a real refreshment for the genre I'd say. I know he's not that new, but he is to me, so that's my personal feeling.
All in all, I recommend this to horror junkies everywhere.
All in all, I recommend this to horror junkies everywhere.
rock_n_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Before starting this read, I was aware that House of Skin is Janz's first novel. Because of this, I had a brief thought that perhaps the story wouldn't grab me as quickly as the others. Well friends, that thought quickly went away, because I got hooked on this one as fast as any other Janz read. Since I've read his newest work, I can definitely see how his writing has developed since House of Skin, but I'm truly impressed that this was his first published novel.
House of Skin is now among my favorite Janz novels. I didn't realize how much I enjoy stories about haunted houses until recently. After finishing this read, I want to get my hands on other stories in the sub genre, especially those that inspired Janz. All of my favorite things about his writing were there from the beginning, in this novel. The characters really come alive, and while I didn't strongly relate to any of them in this story, I was locked in and couldn't wait to see what horrific deeds would happen next. When you add some messed up family dynamics to a supernatural story, it's bound to be a wild ride! Not only is the house evil, but so are many of its inhabitants. To avoid spoilers, let me just say that there are certain scenes in this book that are burned into my memory. I loved it!
Thank you again to Flame Tree Press and the author for the chance to read an advance copy of this title, in exchange for an honest review.
House of Skin is now among my favorite Janz novels. I didn't realize how much I enjoy stories about haunted houses until recently. After finishing this read, I want to get my hands on other stories in the sub genre, especially those that inspired Janz. All of my favorite things about his writing were there from the beginning, in this novel. The characters really come alive, and while I didn't strongly relate to any of them in this story, I was locked in and couldn't wait to see what horrific deeds would happen next. When you add some messed up family dynamics to a supernatural story, it's bound to be a wild ride! Not only is the house evil, but so are many of its inhabitants. To avoid spoilers, let me just say that there are certain scenes in this book that are burned into my memory. I loved it!
Thank you again to Flame Tree Press and the author for the chance to read an advance copy of this title, in exchange for an honest review.
vondav's review against another edition
4.0
When Paul inherited a large estate from his estranged uncle, the thing was that he had no idea why his family didn’t talk about him. Paul was the black sheep of family forced to go into the family business whilst all he wanted to do was become a writer. Once he moves into Watermere, his uncle’s estate, he knew it was the change he needed. As soon as he is there, he is up against prejudice and as you get further into the story, you get an understanding of why the town does not like the Carver family. To add to his problems, men are disappearing from the town.
Sheriff Sam Barlow knew Myles Carver personally and Librarian Julia Merrow had her own secrets, that she did not want anyone finding out. Inserted throughout the story was the back stories of Annabel and Myles which gave you a clear picture who and what was occurring in the house. As Paul was trying to write, his work in progress adds to the mystery of the house
Written in 3rd person POV enables you to get to know the handful of characters in fine detail as each one had their own story to tell on how Myles Carver ruined their lives. There are graphic scenes throughout this story, which adds to the sense that something evil is occurring in the house. One of my favourite scenes was what happened to Emily in the ballroom. I love reading books that have me on tenterhooks, as I am turning the pages waiting for something to figurally jump out at me and give me a fright and this book ticked the box.
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and I am looking forward to reading more of his work
Sheriff Sam Barlow knew Myles Carver personally and Librarian Julia Merrow had her own secrets, that she did not want anyone finding out. Inserted throughout the story was the back stories of Annabel and Myles which gave you a clear picture who and what was occurring in the house. As Paul was trying to write, his work in progress adds to the mystery of the house
Written in 3rd person POV enables you to get to know the handful of characters in fine detail as each one had their own story to tell on how Myles Carver ruined their lives. There are graphic scenes throughout this story, which adds to the sense that something evil is occurring in the house. One of my favourite scenes was what happened to Emily in the ballroom. I love reading books that have me on tenterhooks, as I am turning the pages waiting for something to figurally jump out at me and give me a fright and this book ticked the box.
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and I am looking forward to reading more of his work