Reviews

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry

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sabrinz's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book, just like Good Girls, is an obvious homage to horror movies and the people who like then and the people who make them. However, while Good Girls focuses on some genres (slasher, cosy mysteries, survival), this story of Harry focuses on the horror genre and its monsters - at the same time it also captures the horror of everyday life and the post-pandemic life.
Harry struggles as a single mom with her cleaning job at a big mansion in Chicago - her employer is the elusive horror director Javier Castillo who moved to Chicago to hide from the LA reporters who want to solve the case of his son's and wife's disappearance after his son was accused of murder.

As the story unfolds we get some background of both Harry and Mr. Castillo in short chapters, but we mainly focus on Harry's job and the not-so-normal going-ons with some of Mr. Castillo's collection of movie props.

To me, the big climax builds very, very slowly and the mystery is somehow intangible until quite late. Nevertheless, it is a great story that never feels boring and that keeps you reading - and I kept asking myself if the horror was the going-ons in the mansion or the struggles Harry had to face and overcome in her everyday life.

Content Warnings