One Upon a Time in the '80s, I was a little bitty kid who would curl up with his grandma in the extra bedroom/laundry room and watch reruns of Dark Shadows on PBS on an old black & white television. That was my first introduction to the mysterious world of the Collins family and their vampire ancestor, Barnabas Collins. 

The newest ghostwritten V.C. Andrews novel, Out of the Rain, was published last month by Gallery Books. It's the sequel to "The Umbrella Lady" (here's the link to my review if anyone wants to read it) written by Andrew Neiderman - otherwise known as the ghostwriter. After V.C. Andrews died in 1986, her family and publisher hired Andrew Neiderman (The Devil's Advocate) to write the Flowers in the Attic prequel Garden of Shadows, based on Ms. Andrews' notes, and finish the Casteel series. Since then, Mr. Neiderman has penned each new V.C. Andrews title, who just celebrated his 81st birthday in October.

I am assuming most readers have already read the classic gothic tale REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. I, for one, am late in the game with this novel. I saw the Albert Hitchcock Oscar-winning adaptation way back during my childhood, and while the plot details are scarce in my memory, I did like the film. In early January, I watched Netflix's 2020 remake starring Lily James, Armie Hammer (the less I talk about him, the better), and Kristin Scott Thomas. Even though the gothic-aspects were watered down compared to Hitchcock's vision, for the most part, I liked it enough to rewatch it twice. Later, I remembered seeing the book with a tie-in cover at a Walmart the previous month. I had almost picked up the book but decided against it at the last minute. Of course, I had regretted it after viewing the Netflix film, and luckily for me, the store still had the book in stock.

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Drew has always lived in the shadow of the Hensley Mansion, a sinister southern home up on the hill.

Once you enter, you really never leave and Drew discovered that no once but twice.

The first time she was sixteen-years-old with a group of friends on Hallow's Eve and the second time to get rid of an abusive husband she couldn't escape, but it cost her more than just her freedom.

To make it worse now, Drew Anderson has to relive her time in the Hensley mansion to help demolition constructor Stansley flatten the evil brooding in that house. But little did she know she has to visit for a third time to fulfill the task.

Sissy and Ava Hush are estranged, middle-aged sisters with little in common beyond their upbringing in a peculiar manor in downtown St. John’s. With both parents now dead, the siblings must decide what to do with the old house they’ve inherited. Despite their individual loneliness, neither is willing to change or cede to the other’s intentions. As the sisters discover the house’s dark secrets, the spirits of the past awaken, and strange events envelop them. The Hush sisters must either face these sinister forces together or be forever ripped apart.

"Once upon time, there was four siblings who were forced by their mother to live in their grandparent's attic for nearly 3 ½ years. Thanks to a crazed grandmother, rat poison, and a little bit of incest, the children's experience in the attic was a nightmare."