📚’A different take on the ‘haunted house’ scenario.’ @CathyRy reviews Mild #Horror The Misery House by David Kummer (Book #1 in The House On The Hill series)

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading The Misery House by David Kummer.

The story centres around the Woods family; Cliff and Naomi and their children, Kaia and Nathaniel. Set in the small, quiet town of New Haven where anyone new is looked upon with suspicion, and preconceived opinions are commonplace. Overlooking the town is the menacing, abandoned old house on the hill.

Naomi is still thought of different by some townsfolk because of the colour of her skin, despite being married to a New Haven native and living in the town for years. She had her own close encounter with the house years ago and steers clear.

Things begin to unravel during a baseball game when a fire ravaged one of the local stores and two people died. Sheriff Wheeler’s suspicions landed firmly on the new family in town. Some people think the house on the hill could cause bad things to happen. Then Kaia’s best friend and her husband, the very unlikeable Maliki, disappear.

‘My eyes and imagination traveled to the house, on fire in the sky and in my head. I didn’t know what “it” was, whether Jeremy meant the house itself or what ever might lurk in its countless shadows. An abandoned house that i suspected might not be so empty. But nevertheless, I did understand the trembling, the anxiety. The urge to keep quiet for fear that it might hear you. Might even see you.’

Each chapter is told from one of four points of view – Cliff, Naomi, Kaia and Nathaniel, with a couple of chapters in and around New Haven, which keeps the momentum going. Descriptive writing give a good sense of place and characters. Nothing is resolved, this being the first book a series of three. I enjoyed the fact it was a different take on the ‘haunted house’ scenario and the horror, so far anyway, is quite mild. I enjoyed reading The Misery House but it didn’t grab me quite as much as I hoped.

Book description

Sometimes the quietest little towns are haunted by the darkest secrets.
A psychological thriller and a family you’ll never forget.

New Haven: This rural town has never seen a string of tragedies like this. A local store burns to the ground with two bodies inside. A newlywed couple goes missing, and all signs point to the abandoned house. With no answers, the townsfolk grow more and more worried.

The Woods family has lived here forever. But when their friends and their own children are put in danger, the threat hits home. This close-knit family must risk everything to find answers, but time is running out.

New Haven has secrets. And a haunted house like you’ve never seen before.

The Misery House is a chilling, suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing until the very end and set the stage for an epic three-book haunting. With its twists and turns, a likable family thrust into danger, this page-turner will keep you up late into the night.

It’s up to the Woods family. Some fates are worse than death. Is it too late to save their town… and each other?

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