Reviews with content warning for Rape - The House of a Hundred Whispers

Wow! This one has left me speechless! While the middle of the story did feel a little slow it was pivotal for creating the absolutely incredible ending! For my first Masterton book, I am SO impressed! This book definitely told me why he is a considered a master of Horror! Will definitely be recommending this one and reading more of his works!

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pipbiz's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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bethjuliette's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This book has a really interesting idea, and for the most part I enjoyed the storyline. But the writing is quite jarring and the dialogue - for something set in modern times - is totally unrealistic. Some of the characters absolutely need the old fashioned dialogue but not the main, modern characters....

TRIGGER WARNING: There is a totally unnecessary gang r*pe scene in there too which I suppose is trying to add tot he 'horror' element but it's very graphically written and you can absolutely tell it was written by a man, as the woman simply gets up after being saved from it and continues as if nothing happened...

Overall, just expected a lot from this that I didn't get. The premise is great, the storyline seems well backed up and couldn't spot any MAJOR plotholes in it, but unable to connect with any of the characters, and a poor depiction of how a woman would deal with such a horrific ordeal - not to mention a poor depiction of a lesbian couple too!

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kenzies's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.25

quite literally one of the worst books i’ve ever read. stiff characters, unrealistic dialogue, horribly written characters (primarily women), horrible portrayal of a lesbian relationship, completely unnecessary gang rape scene, incredibly hokey plot. the only reason it gets a .25 from me is because it had an interesting premise. the writing was not solid enough for me to suspend my disbelief and thus was entirely unenjoyable. do not read this.

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elskabee's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

0.25

[DNF at 90% so I'm counting this as read] Do yourself a favour and don't read this.

here's a list of grievances:
- cardboard cut out characters
- very bland and repetitive dialogue
- withholding of information in a way that was frustrating rather than mysterious
- extremely dry and bland writing overall
- some extremely unnecessary transphobia (where a priest says that "gender confused" people seek exorcisms and that he recently exorcised a trans woman who wanted to murder her own family)
- casual homophobia
- misogynistic writing (women described mainly in regards to their breasts for example; most female characters lacking any agency as opposed to the male characters, also constantly seeking or being given guidance by male characters; one of the lesbian characters' job is described as being a "gender equality fuhrer"; so much more I can't be bothered writing about)
- oh and when we got to a full on sexual assault scene described in detail for several pages??? I finally decided I'd had enough and the intrigue of the plot wasn't enough any more.

I'm not one of those people who avoids male writers, but I'm certainly going to be a lot more careful before I pick up something without a recommendation from someone I trust, because this reading experience was horrible.

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michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

⚠️ TW: gambling addiction, murder, rape, brief mentions of child murders ⚠️ If you're looking for a classic feeling haunted house read then this one is definitely for you! This book follows the story of the Russell family and their childhood home of All Hallows Hall, a rambling Tudor mansion on the edge of the bleak and misty Dartmoor. It is not a place where many would choose to live, yet the former governor of Dartmoor Prison did just that. Then upon his demise his children, who are long estranged, were set to inherit his estate. But when the family come to stay after the old man's death, the atmosphere of the moors seems to drift into every room. Floorboards creak, secret passageways echo and the wind whistles in the house's famous priest hole. And then in the morning when the family decide to leave and never come back, their young son Timmy disappears. This book was a good gothic spooky season read that had the opportunity to be great but unfortunately it did disappoint a little. It immediately grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I was so gripped. However, in the middle it started to really slow down and later on in the book there was a lot of waffling explanations relating to myths, priest exorcisms and witch craft which while interesting to hear it did break up the flow even more and then left me feeling like the ending was rushed. My biggest issue with this book is that there is a rape scene roughly two thirds of the way into the book that is completely unnecessary to the plot and felt very pointless and it definitely ruined it quite a bit for me unfortunately. Overall, other than the things I've mentioned I did like this spooky read and do recommend it if you're wanting a haunted house/exorcism-esque read!

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blackwater's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It's unintentionally very funny (except for the sexual assault, which was completely unnecessary, uncomfortable, and ruined the book).

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bookworm4tea's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

3.5

I love the gothic horror feel of the story and that it was set in an old manor that’s apparently haunted by a great deal of people. After the patriarch of the family dies the family comes back to Allhallows Hall and while there Timmy goes missing. So we’re brought along on the journey to puzzle out where he could have gone and finally they figure out maybe the house took him and they need help trying to get him back. I found this to be an interesting story line but I didn’t really like the ending of the book because it seemed kinda rushed and

I really didn’t like that the author felt the need to add that gang rape scene where the man trapped in the house stripped the paranormal investigator and one of them actually penetrates her while the other wait their turn and only another man is able to stop them.

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