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maryleong 's review for:
The House of Last Resort
by Christopher Golden
(3.5/5) After reading (and disliking) Christopher Golden's Road of Bones, I'm glad that I gave this novel a chance. Young couple Kate and Tommy have moved to Becchina, a run-down hill town in Italy offering dirt-cheap homes to anyone willing to relocate and revitalize the town. Tommy's family hails from the region, and for him, it's a homecoming of sorts. His grandmother is delighted to have them there – until she realizes which house they've moved into.
Known to the townsfolk as "The House of Last Resort", the house was formerly owned by the Catholic Church. Strange happenings begin to occur: whispers in the wind, doors that seem to lock and unlock on their own. As the couple learns more about the dark history that lies beneath their very floorboards, they find themselves becoming increasingly paranoid. Are they simply being affected by the superstitious locals, or is something far more sinister at play?
Though this novel gets off to a slow start, it ends up being a compelling and unsettling read. Enviable slice-of-life vignettes of a young couple enjoying the Italian countryside are juxtaposed against religious horror in all its forms, from malevolent supernatural forces to the real-life abuses perpetuated by the Catholic Church. The mounting terror concludes with an appropriately bleak and horrifying ending, one that feels starkly hopeless and empty. Overall, an engaging and entertaining read.
Known to the townsfolk as "The House of Last Resort", the house was formerly owned by the Catholic Church. Strange happenings begin to occur: whispers in the wind, doors that seem to lock and unlock on their own. As the couple learns more about the dark history that lies beneath their very floorboards, they find themselves becoming increasingly paranoid. Are they simply being affected by the superstitious locals, or is something far more sinister at play?
Though this novel gets off to a slow start, it ends up being a compelling and unsettling read. Enviable slice-of-life vignettes of a young couple enjoying the Italian countryside are juxtaposed against religious horror in all its forms, from malevolent supernatural forces to the real-life abuses perpetuated by the Catholic Church. The mounting terror concludes with an appropriately bleak and horrifying ending, one that feels starkly hopeless and empty. Overall, an engaging and entertaining read.