Intrigued by the cover quotes from authors Tana French (Powerful Thriller) and Mark Billingham (Spooky as Hell) I was hoping The House by Simon Lelic would be tense and terrifying. It looked like a young couple was going to buy a haunted house and fight for their lives to get out, but no luck. This quickly turned into a domestic thriller with a double twist at the end - both lame.
Jack and Syd won the chance to buy a furnished London townhouse despite being the lowest bidders. Filled with taxidermy birds and old furniture it's already creepy before they discover a mangled cat in the attic and a strange box of children's toys. Cue the icy hands stroking her face at night and haunting photos on the walls and I was ready for the terror to begin. Syd spends a lot of time in the local park talking to her neighbours child, a young girl who is being abused like Syd had been. I was waiting for the girl to be a ghost... Syd has a history of family abuse and is still troubled after her father has died. Soon the girl's aggresive father is threatening them and someone is murdered in the back alley, the evidence clearly accusing Jack.
The great horror novel Burnt Offerings also had the set-up of a too-good-to-be-true rental that turned into a nightmare, but as Syd tells us up front "this isn't a ghost story. OK?". The story is told in alternating 'diary' entries from Jack and Syd, a device quickly forgotten as the novel continues. Just now I am tired of domestic thrillers (of the The Girl On A Train variety) which often peter out to a quiet finish. This did have a few ending twists but neither powerful enough to satisfy. For me this was talky and lacking thrills.
Disappointing.
2017 / Tradeback / 340 pages
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