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A review by camillessi
All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley
dark
emotional
mysterious
3.5
First 1/3 of the book was a solid four stars. Dropped down to 3 for me as the book went on.
The first half of this novel was everything I want in a gothic novel set in modern times. Old house, off-putting lady of the manor, sinister children, family secrets. As it went on, though, the atmosphere sort of dropped off as the plot became more straightforward with NUMEROUS plot twists. By the end, I was rather exhausted with the plot twists.How many dang times can someone be raised from the dead? I know that was part of the point, but GEEZ, it was endless! Literally till the last chapter of the book, right when I thought all the resurrection twists were overwith.
The romance between Evie and Marin kind of contributed to the loss of atmosphere, in my opinion. The relationship moved far too quickly for my tastes—for a gothic novel, particularly—and we didn't get much reason for why they fell in love. All of a sudden Marin is making all these overtures, but I couldn't understand how she even got to that point. It was very close to instalove, and much of their relationship was written with a lot of telling instead of showing. There was barely any romantic tension early on. I don't know. I wasn't convinced. I was really excited for a true gothic love story, but it just didn't suit the slow-burn of the rest of the book!
This book hit every gothic note splendidly for the first 1/3 of the book, but then it became a bit spotty as I kept reading. It did scratch my "modern gothic novel" itch, mostly, so that's why I rounded up. I'm still searching for that delicious, creepy slow-burn.
The first half of this novel was everything I want in a gothic novel set in modern times. Old house, off-putting lady of the manor, sinister children, family secrets. As it went on, though, the atmosphere sort of dropped off as the plot became more straightforward with NUMEROUS plot twists. By the end, I was rather exhausted with the plot twists.
The romance between Evie and Marin kind of contributed to the loss of atmosphere, in my opinion. The relationship moved far too quickly for my tastes—for a gothic novel, particularly—and we didn't get much reason for why they fell in love. All of a sudden Marin is making all these overtures, but I couldn't understand how she even got to that point. It was very close to instalove, and much of their relationship was written with a lot of telling instead of showing. There was barely any romantic tension early on. I don't know. I wasn't convinced. I was really excited for a true gothic love story, but it just didn't suit the slow-burn of the rest of the book!
This book hit every gothic note splendidly for the first 1/3 of the book, but then it became a bit spotty as I kept reading. It did scratch my "modern gothic novel" itch, mostly, so that's why I rounded up. I'm still searching for that delicious, creepy slow-burn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death