The other day, I was in the library glancing at the "newer" books, and the title "The House That Horror Built" caught my attention. Everyone knows I love anything horror, so I checked the book out. Christina Henry wrote the book, an author I have heard of, but I don't believe I've read anything by her. However, my memory hasn't been 100% reliable lately, so who knows?
The protagonist is Harry Adams, a woman who fell in love with everything horror during her teenage years when she went under the name Harriet Anne Schorr. She lived in a strict religious household, got fed up with things, ran away, and changed her name to Harry. She's now a single mother of a teenager, Gabe. She's barely making it by, working paycheck to paycheck. Her current job is cleaning the house for horror movie director Javier Castillo, who has lived in isolation at his Chicago mansion ever since the disappearance of his wife and son.
For a novel with the word "horror" right there in the title, there's minimal actual horror in it. The protagonist claims to see movie props inside the mansion moving and maybe a haunting voice coming from inside a locked room. There are a few moments of peril in the latter half, but at that point, predictability kicked in, and what should have been "shocking" became eye-rolling stupidity.
The House That Horror Built wants to be an unforgettable Gothic horror-thriller, but the author has problems setting up the scares for the reader, and everything falls flat. I've seen too many horror flicks and read too many books, and I figured out the twist early on, leaving me to feel nothing when the "big" ending reveal happened. All that The House That Horror Built has is a cool title; it's nothing but a waste of time for horror readers. ╌★★✰✰✰
For a novel with the word "horror" right there in the title, there's minimal actual horror in it. The protagonist claims to see movie props inside the mansion moving and maybe a haunting voice coming from inside a locked room. There are a few moments of peril in the latter half, but at that point, predictability kicked in, and what should have been "shocking" became eye-rolling stupidity.
The House That Horror Built wants to be an unforgettable Gothic horror-thriller, but the author has problems setting up the scares for the reader, and everything falls flat. I've seen too many horror flicks and read too many books, and I figured out the twist early on, leaving me to feel nothing when the "big" ending reveal happened. All that The House That Horror Built has is a cool title; it's nothing but a waste of time for horror readers. ╌★★✰✰✰
Just a quick reminder: This book is available for purchase on Amazon.com. I am an Amazon affiliate, so if you buy the book through the link above, I will receive a small commission. All earnings will help to support future reviews.
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