Robert Marasco (1936–1998)

Considering this was first published in the 70s(?), this holds up pretty well if you squint. It's a haunted house story more in the vein of House of Leaves or Amityville Horror and less like, say, Rebecca or The Shining. That is, something is terribly wrong with the house itself vs. an entity haunting it per se.

This book may have been stronger if the main character 'felt' the weight of her choices more and if they all were more likable and relatable. That is, if there had been more investment in the marriage, family, or mother/child relationship so that there's more impact and emotion driving the plot/climax. There's a sort of, I dunno, simmering ennui to their lives and I didn't find myself particularly invested in what happens. But, maybe that's of its time - and captured the 70s well.

This is subtly scary - far more unsettling than terrifying. There's no gore, no jump scares, no drama - it builds slowly and nothing much happens until the end when something does. I've not seen the movie, but there are a couple of scenes in the book that I could see being standout scenes in film.

This has been on my list awhile as a grandaddy in the genre, I finally got around to it, and although it wasn't a favorite, and won't be a re-read, I'm not disappointed I did.… (meer)

A skillful writer, but a boring story teller. The pacing is agonizingly slow. The characters are one dimensional and formulaic. Marion a housewife who constantly spends outside her means gets the house of her dreams. Ben a stick in the mud pragmatist has to pretend he is OK with everything. And their only precocious child David likes endangering himself. Their only "character traits" are just vehicles to move the plot along. Marion, the housewife is obsessed with making this obviously evil,decrepit house feel like her own. Ben, the pragmatist tries to dissuade her from the allusion. David is kindling waiting to be tossed into the fire. Technically they all are. The sense of ominous, foreboding supernatural dread lurking behind every corner I was expecting was non-existent. The ending was uneventful. I'm really glad word runner was available otherwise it would have been a even more difficult to finish without it.… (meer)

“How could three weeks - less even - wipe out nine years?”

When an offer is too good to be true, well…

The first 55 pages or so of this book are VERY slow, and a bit tedious. And the next hundred didn't really heat things up. Basically, a family of three rent a mansion for the summer, and something is wrong with the deal. Especially with regards to the mom. And an old lady may, or may not, also be in the mansion. And something happens at the end, but I'm not quite sure what. But I'm pretty sure that nothing was ever 'burnt'. I think...… (meer)