Review: The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty
20 August 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, fiction, Horror, Max Doty, Review, The House That Eats the Dead, writing
My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Good Time Was Had
I’m just going to be honest. More often than not when I request a book I don’t read the description, or I just skim the parts that really interest me. I know what sort of book I like and I also have a number of authors that I will hit ‘request’ for in a New York minute if I see a new release on the horizon. So, going into THTEtD, well firstly this was a ‘new to me’ author and I had no real idea what it was about – other than the title – which, I also hold my hands up – I rather lead myself down the garden path with and thought it was going to be more of a ‘killing’ house – I don’t know why I though that but I did. As it happens, and again, confession, when I picked this up it was almost begrudgingly and with the expectation that it wasn’t going to win me over. I was wrong. There you go. This was very entertaining. I had no problem eating this up at all in fact the only problem I had was putting it down. Considering how busy I’ve been recently I ended up staying up into the early hours to finish it. Original, strangely horrible and very addictive.
Now, first off. I’m going to forewarn some of you out there, and you know who you are, there is a family dog, and it unfortunately has a fatal accident. I don’t want to give away spoilers but let me just say that the house does not kill the dog! And, yes, I was upset because I’m a dog lover and have two dogs. I’m not a lover of the demise of the family pet, any more than I am a lover of the girlfriend/wife who dies in the first few chapters of a book as a means of provoking revenge or payback or whatever in the husband/boyfriend. To an extent, yes, I guess the author did use this death to ease readers into what’s really happening with the house, and before you all break out the pitchforks and torches let me just say he’s much more ruthless with the people he ‘lets go’ and some of them were equally innocent. I’m just stating this to help you make an informed decision really, the whole family dog demise might be enough to put some readers off this – so you have been warned.
Moving on. Claire and Tom have decided to move from the City and have finally found a house that they think is perfect for their family. They’re not the only ones bidding, this is a popular house in a very sought after area and a tough economic market too – they can’t really afford to go too high. Claire finally writes a very personal letter of submission and the family find themselves the lucky owners of a new house. Straight away there are odd things, strange noises at night, things just seem to go missing, are they displaced? It’s all very odd. Okay, everyone puts things down, or more to the point thinks they’ve put things in a specific place only to find them somewhere else, with this house, that’s totally different – but I won’t say more – other than things escalate.
I really don’t want to ruin this for anyone else and part of the fun for me was the uniqueness of this and discovering it for myself.
Instead, here’s what worked.
Well, firstly the author doesn’t try to explain things. There is no explanation. I don’t know whether this is a haunted house story in the traditional sense because that usually involves an entity of some sort that has passed away but lingers and haunts people. So, this isn’t really a haunting. It’s more like the house is sentient. How, I have no idea and frankly I also don’t care that much to know because any explanation would probably be trite at best. Just go with the flow. This house feels, it knows, it understands and it can learn. If you could have a pet house, well, here it is.
I wonder how much I can tell you? Well, the clue is really in the title. So, this house eats what is dead. Your oak table and chairs used to be alive. Cut flowers. Pieces of chicken or fish in your fridge. Pages of a book – what is paper made of? I never really thought of this but it makes you think, in a very surface level way because you’re too busy moving on with the story – which is quick paced and relentless and, frankly, compulsive.
The characters. I liked Claire. She is pretty crazy at points and you may be reading and thinking ‘really’, but her nickname as a younger women did involve the word chaos, and whilst she’s turned into some sort of yummy middle class very well heeled woman, secretly, she feels like she’s become a different version of herself. This definitely feeds into the story.
Also, the house changes people. It’s a hungry house and there’s nothing like the power of suggestion to a mind that either wants power, or popularity or even just a bedtime story. It’s a clever house. More than that it attracts, lets just say ‘the wrong sort’. This could be a very useful house to certain people. It eats things, evidence, even history. sometimes it makes things too easy. It really is a fantastic concept.
The writing is good, the pace is good, the story is good. It feels really unique and I was gripped and entertained.
This was good, entertaining, easy to read and enjoyable. Don’t expect deep and meaningful as such although there is a theme here about abuse of power and more so right and wrong and how easy it is to make the wrong choices if they make your life simpler.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Raven by Lyndsay Faye
12 August 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: 'Gothic', Book Reviews, Books, Can't wait Wednesday, Horror, Jane Steele, Lyndsay Faye, Raven, Romance, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Raven by Lyndsay Faye. I absolutely loved Jane Steele so have been waiting to read something by this author. Here’s the description and cover:
An orphaned young woman in antebellum Maryland is pulled into a maelstrom of passion, pain, and occult power in this Gothic homage to the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.
I died a fortnight ago this coming Thursday. It was a terrifically unpleasant experience—being murdered, I mean to say.
Raven Helen Allan has always been haunted by witchcraft. Since the death of her beloved mother, she has soothed herself by speaking words into spells—a proclivity enhanced by time spent with her aunt’s library of occult books. She also finds a self-destructive solace in transmuting the pain in her heart onto her flesh.
After an itinerant childhood spent first with her mother’s traveling theater troupe and then being passed around from relative to relative, Raven is relieved to finally settle down with Aunt Berenice in her Baltimore townhouse—even if her aunt spends most evenings in a laudanum haze. There she finds a long-sought sense of belonging with the family of enslaved workers in her aunt’s household, especially the brilliantly odd youngest daughter Pym. Raven’s infatuation with her friend only grows more intimate as the girls become women together. But when the household is threatened with financial ruin, Raven must set out to earn her own living.
Taking a job as a paid companion, Raven arrives at the crumbling Moldavia Manor. Her charge is a delicate young invalid named Lenore Legrand who haunts the Gothic structure like a phantom. Living with them is Lenore’s devoted older cousin Travanion, who shares Raven’s interest in the occult and devotes his days to searching ancient texts for an Elixir of Life that might cure his cousin. Raven finds herself inexorably drawn to both cousins as well as to the secrets hidden in the shadows of Moldavia Manor. Will she find the answers she seeks in Trevanion’s alchemical texts? What is the meaning of glowing green light emitted from the tower windows? And is Raven truly narrating this story from beyond the grave—if so, who murdered her?
Gothic and atmospheric, Raven is an aching tale of loss, freedom, death, and resurrection by the celebrated author of Jane Steele and Dust and Shadow.
Expected publication: October 2026
Review: The Summer Fun Massacre (Slasher Season #1) by Craig DiLouie
6 July 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Craig DiLouie, Horror, reading, Review, reviews, slasher, Slasher Season #1, The Summer Fun Massacre
My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Case of Managed Expectations
Okay, what do I mean by managed expectations? Basically when I requested The Summer Fun Massacre I jumped to the immediate conclusion that this was going to be your basic gorefest. Call me old fashioned but the words ‘Massacre’ and ‘Slasher Season’ I think very much helped me to go down that particular path. But, I did read an early review for this that suggested this had a police procedural feel and wasn’t just a (bare with me) ‘brainless’ slasher book and this helped me to be a bit more open to something different if you will. This is a really gripping story, there is blood and guts, tension and mystery but at the centre is a cop who wants to uncover the truth and I loved following in his footsteps as he tried to uncover the truth.
Now, before you throw your hands in the air, all exasperated because you’re now thinking that this isn’t a slasher story – well, it still is to be honest. There isn’t a shortage of victims but what really adds to this is the sense of mystery. I mean, what the fudge is actually going on in this tiny town? It’s really quite fascinating. A killer that seems to be something of an urban myth. So many secrets. Dodgy police and that one ‘final girl. I literally enjoyed this more than I ever expected. I came for the bloodfest and stayed for the gory mystery.
So, what did I particularly enjoy.
Well, the start is just really tense. We open up with Deputy Tom Bailey, our MC. He’s on his way (back) to the local Camp which has recently reopened. The people there are spooked and he’s already paid them a visit to check out all is okay and calm down a few frayed nerves, check under beds and in cupboards. But, something doesn’t sit right with Tom and on a hunch he decides to go back. This is all taking place in the summer of 1992, what happened more or less ten years earlier, was a massacre at that very same Summer camp – which has been closed ever since. Tom thinks its a terrible idea to reopen but who is he to reason why. He backtracks to reassure himself and before he knows it everything has gone to hell in a handcart. I loved this opener. If you want ‘massacre’ this opening gives it to you in spades. And, what I particularly loved is the way that as a reader you’re thrown straight in. Tom is a great character and you immediately like him, you want him to live, but for a moment there things really do hang in the balance. It’s all pretty darned scary to be honest.
Now, enter the scene the ‘final girl’ – Mary. As it happens, Tom and Mary were a couple, way back when, before everything went pear shaped. Mary was the last survivor of the 1983 Camp Massacre. Safe to say the pair drifted apart after that but Tom and Mary begin to reconnect, she has information and he is desperate to uncover the truth. Again, this ia a particular route that doesn’t go in the way you expect. In fact I love the twists with this story. I was hooked. I was just having a good time.
Tom is idealistic, perhaps almost a bit innocent. He simply wants to make a difference but at the same time as being naive he is also someone that others trust, he is solid and likable. Well, not everyone likes him. The Sheriff, and his son in particular, don’t like his interference. They’re all for an easy ride and with an election round the corner they don’t appreciate Tom’s delving, they want quick solutions. But something doesn’t sit right for Tom, too many unanswered questions.
For me this is a perfect combination of good writing, a winning MC, a police investigation combined with your basic camp massacre(s) and plenty of twists. I mean, really, I didn’t see things coming at all. I love a good mystery with a slasher in a bunny mask – doesn’t everyone? Lots of tension and another book yet to come. Colour me happy.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Review: The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
22 May 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, fiction, Horror, Marcus Kliewer, Review, The Caretaker
My Five Word TL:DR Review: I mean, what just happened?
Well, The Caretaker was perhaps one of my most anticipated reads for 2026 and I will say upfront that although this didn’t horrify me in quite the same way that We Used to Live Here did (because that book gave me the heebies) it still held me captivated and turning the pages at an almost indecent pace. It’s an insidious read. It creeps up on you and then jumps out from behind a darkened doorway when you least expect and the ending – well, I feel like I need to read it again because I didn’t expect or want that. That is all.
Macy Mullins is in a pretty desperate way. She’s looking after her sister after the death of their father. She’s seen some pretty low times but being on the cusp of losing the (frankly disgusting and barely passing as fit for human habitation) apartment that they live in really serves to highlight the all time low that these two sisters have now reached. In absolute dire straits Macy takes a job interview for a caretaker role. After a long trek out she finds herself in a fairly prestigious neighbourhood where she is supposedly going to be interviewed for the job of looking after an elderly man whilst his wife is away for a couple of nights. Well, it turns out this is a little bit of a con, the elderly man in question has passed away and his wife wants somebody to continue to keep up his strange series of ‘rites’ that she promised would be maintained in the event he should die. It seems that this ladies husband believed he was saving the world every night by completing a strange series of routine tasks and, trust me, by the end of the book you’ll be wishing that Macy had been a little bit more efficient at following the rules. Macy is offered a very reasonable amount of money for what seems to be a two day role. Of course, she accepts. I mean, the whole thing seems like a bunch of craziness but really how difficult can it be. As it turns out, this is a whole new level of batshit crazy that quickly spirals into mayhem.
Seriously, this book will draw you in. At first you’ll find yourself mildly disbelieving. You’ll read on because you’re oddly compelled, because what the heck is really going on. Then you’ll become gripped. Because, realy, what the heck is going on. Then you’ll be mildly horrified before you descend into shouting at Macy for being so god damned stupid. JUST FOLLOW THE RITES. It’s not rocket science is is? Why with the rabbits though? Kliewer, just why?
Anyway, I’m very hard pressed to really tell you too much about this book without giving away I don’t know how many or what kind of spoilers.
What did I love then?
The slowly mounting tension. The sense that something is ‘off’. What are these ‘rites’ all about after all? Surely this is just some sort of out of the ordinary compulsive disorder? And yet, you find you want Macy to just get on with it. Follow the rules, okay. Don’t mess up. Of course, and I don’t really think this is a spoiler because it would be a very short story otherwise, Macy does mess up. Who wouldn’t. She doesn’t really understand what’s going on, who does? Some of these rules are just crazy and no, she isn’t going to do some of the hideous things suggested in order to rectify her mistake. What could possibly go wrong. Apart from everything.
Secondly, well, it’s the curiosity isn’t it. You’re compelled to read on. Small wonder that ‘curiosity killed the cat’, it nearly gave me a conniption and I had to know. I’m not sure that my curiosity is completely satisfied, but yet, at the same time, everything here is so strange that it also is satisfied. Because of course events unfolded in this way.
Macy. Sometimes she seemed like she really had a grip. Right up until the point that she didn’t. I kind of wanted to shake her. She has an internal monologue running that can definitely be frustrating, not to mention a little bit repetitive and really, although, she liked to think of herself as hardened she really isn’t as tough as she likes to think. But, come on woman, think this thing through! But, of course she didn’t think everything through, why would you, it was all so unbelievable after all and she did make an attempt to stick to the rules. Macy has been through a lot and to say she has suffered with mental health problems would be slightly understating the issue. Definitely this book could be triggering for some readers with it’s unsettling themes so that’s definitely something to bear in mind.
I also really liked the way that everything seemed so simple. Just keep the lights switched off. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a problem and yet once you’re thrown into the thick of things you start to feel like you’re mildly panicking yourself.
To be honest. I don’t think I can, or actually want to, say too much more about The Caretaker. I feel like I’m verging on the land of spoilers and I don’t want to be that person.
This is unsettling. It’s actually really very creepy in parts. It hooked me a lot more than I expected and a lot quicker than I anticipated and then it left me reeling. Given the author’s previous book I should have realised that he would shock and horrify me all over again. Maybe not quite as goosebumpy as the first but still a very good read.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars.
Review: Wolf Worm by T Kingfisher
19 March 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Fantasy, fiction, Horror, Review, T Kingfisher, Wolf Worm
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Absolutely, Without Doubt, My Favourite
Oh my giddy aunt I loved this book. Saying this is my favourite book by this author to date is a big statement because I’m loving her books but this was brilliant. Now, having said that I feel I must point out that this doesn’t fall into her romance bracket. This is gothic horror and it will certainly make you squirm. I’m not really a horror fan and combined with insects I tend to choose those sort of stories very carefully, fortunately, I didn’t read the description for this one but simply picked it up on the strength of the author’s previous books and I’m so glad I did. I would have been gutted to have missed this (well, strictly speaking I wouldn’t know that I was missing such a gem but even so).
Following the death of her father Sonia Wilson’s hopes and dreams are shattered. She eventually, having sold everything she can, takes up a job in a school until she’s offered an illustrating position with Dr Halder, painting insects to sit alongside his findings in a book that he hopes will be his scientific tour de force. Sonia takes the position and travels to North Carolina with everything that she owns in a little suitcase and the last of her money in her pocket. She eventually arrives at the Dr’s estate and this is when the story really takes shape.
What did I love about this – everything to be honest – but let’s break it down.
First and foremost the writing. This is a historical style novel. Set in 1899 with the usual social restrictions that this holds. The story is so good to read. I really enjoyed the set up and the gradual increase in tension but the writing is just perfect. This doesn’t have the over stuffiness of certain period pieces but at the same time it doesn’t have Sonia talking in a modern way. It’s a perfect blend of easy, enjoyable and on point.
We have this gothic setting. The house is set deep in the middle of the forest (completely understandable given the Dr’s area of expertise – so many insects set in the murky depths). A rambling mansion with most of the rooms shut up, their furniture wrapped in dust sheets. There are few inhabitants. The housekeeper and her handyman husband plus one maid. Obviously the doctor and one other man who helps with his experiments, an unsettling character called Phelps. The place is rambling and creepy. Sonia is given a beautiful studio bedroom with plenty of natural light to aid in her illustrating – but the room looks as though someone has just stepped out for a moment. Clothes and possessions lying abandoned. It’s very puzzling and Sonia is nothing if not curious.
The MC Sonia is such a fantastic character. She loves her painting but, and good for her, she prefers to illustrate plants and flowers rather than grubs and caterpillars – but insects is the job and it is what it is. I loved her inner thoughts and in fact her sense of humour makes this story much more palatable than it otherwise would have been. There are definite situations here that are gruesome and although she wants to fall to pieces she constantly gives herself a ticking off and manages to keep things together. This is definitely one of Kingfisher’s major strengths. She writes normal people. Sonia isn’t beautiful. She isn’t extraordinary in some fantastic way, even her illustrations are not always stand out although she is clearly talented she’s someone you can relate to. It’s an extraordinary gift to be able to create people who feel real and relatable and Kingfisher has nailed it. The other characters are also really well drawn, it’s a great balance when you can hold back just enough to prevent your characters from becoming machiavellian or overblown but enough that they support the plot so well.
The story itself is really intriguing. It builds up gradually with Sonia squeezing out little tidbits of information from a supporting cast that are reluctant to share. She starts to form huge doubts about what’s really going on but the analytical side of her and her upbringing give her something of an ability to look at things more calmly and without hysteria. That being said, she also has her moments where she wants to run away screaming or do that freaky dance that you do when an insect lands in your hair! And, believe me when I say that this really strays into the area of horror. This is not cosy. There is no romance but there is without doubt moments of squeam inducing ick. And then there’s the twist – there are breadcrumbs in the story but I really hadn’t followed them and was blindsided in such a startlingly good way.
I’ll stop here. That’s quite enough gushing for one day. This is a perfect blend of wonderful storytelling, fantastic goings on and a great MC who you can really enjoy reading about.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 5 of 5 darkly gothic stars
Books and travelling with Lynn 