Reviews

The House of Footsteps by Mathew West

ljcatz's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

stjehanne's review

3.0

Honestly, a lovely little Gothic tale. It has everything the genre requires, mysteries, an old house, sleepy towns and a ghost.
The setting truly drew me in: I loved reading about the gloomy, dusty halls of Thistlecrook House, its visceral paintings and strange surroundings. The world building was wonderful, especially because of West's solemn, almost lyrical prose that really set the tone.

Unfortunately, some parts of the novel seemed repetitive: Plot points that were brought up again and again, contributing only very little to the overall mystery. This just made the pacing a bit awkward.
And in the end, the ending felt very unsatisfying, not like a proper payoff.
Yes, a lot of questions were left unanswered but that didn't bother me: I personally find the unknown, the vague much scarier than horrors that are explained, seen. However, ending of The House of Footsteps felt rushed to me and didn't really seem to fit a book that had been so good at creating a certain atmosphere up to that point.

I loved reading this one, even though it left me feeling a bit disappointed.

mrsbear's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

This was a recommended book from this site and I did enjoy it.  It may be me, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending.  It left unanswered question  unless I missed something along the way.  Still an entertaining read.

josiesprobablyreading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

alexandramilne's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

tomstbr's review

3.0

A delightful little gothic horror haunted-house-with-demons-and-witches-maybe? Ending was perhaps a little soft, but overall very atmospheric.

fifi1310's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I enjoyed reading this for the most part. Some sections seemed quite repetitive and frustrating but I was motivated to find out what was going on. I don't feel like all my questions were answered at the end.

gh0stp's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.0

nickreadsquick's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

I was surprised to see this has such few ratings as it is a really solid debut. I went into this expecting a Woman in Black-esque experience but was glad to find a more domestic-centred spookfest. Most of the spooky elements come from interpersonal relationships and both the reader and narrator being unsure of what's going on, and I think that was a good choice. The narrator, Simon, is messy but likeable and is a nice inbetween of the young naive fool and flawless protagonist. The prose in this is truly lovely in places, and I certainly felt I knew Thistlecrook by the end. Speaking of the end, I am unsure how I feel about it, but by about 3/4 way through I felt it was perhaps inevitable, and it felt like an authentic decision for Simon. 

krobart's review

2.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/02/13/review-2119-the-house-of-footsteps/