A review by daffodilcherry
Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this haunted house, mystery book that has a very good mix of the supernatural mixed with realistic explanations. As teen-agers, Clare and her friends ventured into a local haunted house, but one friend, Abby, was left forever changed by her time in the house's basement. Now adults, Clare is brought back to her hometown by news that Abby attempted suicide in the house, and she can't rest until she delves into the house's past to uncover what went wrong.

This was an enjoyable book to me, with engrossing writing and a mystery that I wanted to uncover. I'm not usually a fan of a book that switches from first person to third person perspectives, but given that the majority of the book is in 3rd person I will forgive it. My one major gripe with the book is...
WHY DID NO ONE TRY TO PROP OPEN THE DOOR???? I MEAN SERIOUSLY! it would have been a fun scene to watch Clare or ANYONE try to prop the door open only for the prop not to have worked... THANK YOU
. 

Wheelhouses: haunted house, teen girls exploring haunted houses and getting messed up, woman has to return back to her small home town to discover secrets of the past, multiple pov,
cyclical nature of the haunting (teen girl being drawn to the basement), let's burn the whole house down.



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