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dankeohane's review
4.0
An American Gothic tale - a clever and unique blend of haunted house, ghost story and family drama. A REQUIEM FOR DEAD FLIES (excellent title, by the way) is the story of family secrets that slowly scratch their way to the surface over time. Slowly, but steadily, Dudar builds dread between four primary characters in the book: brothers Les and Gordon, their deceased grandmother Vivian, and the old farmhouse where she lived most of her life and where she'd done some terrible things. What these things are is revealed via flashbacks of narrator Les of a fateful summer spent on the farm with his brother. These scenes intertwine with the story of Les and Gordon's return to this place after their grandmother's death to construct a still for making bourbon - I have to admit this was an odd but interesting aspect of the plot, not one you often see in a novel. Although the flashbacks are laden with dread which grows exponentially throughout the book, the modern-day storyline starts off almost too normal, until eventually the past and present stories begin to blend in tone and frights. When this happens, as a reader you move back and forth between them seamlessly and with growing expectation. A very well-written and unique novel, I'm very much looking forward to what the author comes up with next.
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