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Now this, in my opinion, comes very close to exactly what a horror novel should be. The scares are numerous and chilling (the scenes which take place inside Pete's room, especially involving poor Leslie and the tray of dog food, are among the most terrifying), and though the novel lags around the middle, the reader never tires of the almost endless suspense. Right from the beginning, the reader knows that something isn't quite right- Jack and Stephanie take a shortcut through a nearly deserted section of Alabama forest, only to run over a strip of nails in the road and subsequently stumble across a seemingly empty house. That's when the scares begin. Rancid food, a meat locker, a water pipe plugged with a human body, a shotgun-toting metal-masked serial killer, and a little girl whose voice skips like a broken record are only a few of the horrors that await them and their fellow survivors. The one and only criticism I have is that the characters could have been developed a bit more. People like Randy, Leslie, and the trio of religious maniacs who live inside the house are only a few examples of this. I could have asked for a bit more detail in this regard, but I'm more than willing to look past it, as I had genuine fun reading this. House is my first Dekker/Peretti novel, and both authors are both on my list for future reading. Well done!