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Just to start, there is child abuse and child death/murder in this book. It is deeply upsetting and also something I didn’t know about when I started reading this random book I picked up second hand at some point in the last several years. I probably would not have read The Secret of Crickley Hall had I known. But, I read it and I’m glad I did because the story was so well done. It is exactly what I want from a scary haunted house novel.
I don’t want to give too much of the actual plot away. A family temporarily moves from London to a small village in Devon for the father’s job. They are renting Crickley Hall for a short time, and upon moving in it is immediately obvious that the house is haunted.
For me, the best horror has a steady undercurrent of dread. Every moment is FULL of some sort of tension. And man did I feel that reading The Secret of Crickley Hall. I was so on edge the entire time and deeply affected after I finished reading. No jump scares or anything like that. The reading experience was almost like having a low droning noise in the back of my head the whole time, just wearing down my nerves. The Secret of Crickley Hall is a classic British ghost story. Could it have been shorter? Absolutely! But it was also impossible to put down or stop thinking about, so it did the job.
I don’t want to give too much of the actual plot away. A family temporarily moves from London to a small village in Devon for the father’s job. They are renting Crickley Hall for a short time, and upon moving in it is immediately obvious that the house is haunted.
For me, the best horror has a steady undercurrent of dread. Every moment is FULL of some sort of tension. And man did I feel that reading The Secret of Crickley Hall. I was so on edge the entire time and deeply affected after I finished reading. No jump scares or anything like that. The reading experience was almost like having a low droning noise in the back of my head the whole time, just wearing down my nerves. The Secret of Crickley Hall is a classic British ghost story. Could it have been shorter? Absolutely! But it was also impossible to put down or stop thinking about, so it did the job.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
My rating scale: goodreads won’t let me 0 star a book, so 1* is the same as 0* for me. I give this book 3* on goodreads
I rounded this rating up to 3, purely because there were small bits I enjoyed, like when we learn about the history of the house and when they start finding the photo and the toys. I did NOT enjoy how Herbert seems to go from plot point to plot point via rambling, repetitive and frankly boring inner monologues.
The characters are all flat and intensely unlikeable - the only one I actually liked was Percy. The Caleigh family are genuinely all very stupid, and can’t decide whether to believe in ghosts or not / leave the hall or not / mourn their son before they even know he’s dead vs react with ZERO EMOTION when they find out he is dead (I’m looking at you, Eve!). Gabe is egotistical and frustrating. Eve seems kind of hysterical and weird. Loren seems more like a 15 year old than 12, and then sometimes is written like a 6 year old. Callie is just… blatantly written older than she is.
Maurice/Gordon - this character disturbed me so much. The inclusion of paedophilia in this book was horrifying and I feel like the fact that he liked it? And wanted to recreate it? DISTURBING. SICK. hated every second that this man was presented.
The ghosts: not scary in any way, shape or form. I was told I would be spooked. I was told I’d have nightmares. Maybe only about the poor writing, I think.
It feels like the whole book is 600+ pages of OOH INTERESTING oh wait another monologue from gabe about engineering. OOOH INTERESTING oh wait another boring monologue from Maurice as he spends what feels like 13 business days in the pub with the same glass of alcohol OOOOOH FINALLY SOME ACTION oh wait the ending is underwhelming. A real rollercoaster. And not enough good parts to make me enjoy it.
That being said, I did persevere and finish it, so it automatically gets 1* from that. The other 2 are for Percy and the scenes where they explore the hall.
I won’t be reading again.
I rounded this rating up to 3, purely because there were small bits I enjoyed, like when we learn about the history of the house and when they start finding the photo and the toys. I did NOT enjoy how Herbert seems to go from plot point to plot point via rambling, repetitive and frankly boring inner monologues.
The characters are all flat and intensely unlikeable - the only one I actually liked was Percy. The Caleigh family are genuinely all very stupid, and can’t decide whether to believe in ghosts or not / leave the hall or not / mourn their son before they even know he’s dead vs react with ZERO EMOTION when they find out he is dead (I’m looking at you, Eve!). Gabe is egotistical and frustrating. Eve seems kind of hysterical and weird. Loren seems more like a 15 year old than 12, and then sometimes is written like a 6 year old. Callie is just… blatantly written older than she is.
Maurice/Gordon - this character disturbed me so much. The inclusion of paedophilia in this book was horrifying and I feel like the fact that he liked it? And wanted to recreate it? DISTURBING. SICK. hated every second that this man was presented.
The ghosts: not scary in any way, shape or form. I was told I would be spooked. I was told I’d have nightmares. Maybe only about the poor writing, I think.
It feels like the whole book is 600+ pages of OOH INTERESTING oh wait another monologue from gabe about engineering. OOOH INTERESTING oh wait another boring monologue from Maurice as he spends what feels like 13 business days in the pub with the same glass of alcohol OOOOOH FINALLY SOME ACTION oh wait the ending is underwhelming. A real rollercoaster. And not enough good parts to make me enjoy it.
That being said, I did persevere and finish it, so it automatically gets 1* from that. The other 2 are for Percy and the scenes where they explore the hall.
I won’t be reading again.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes