Without knowing anything about the author, I would have bet that he was an Englishman, as there's just so much detail about 70s and 00s England that took me back in time. London is my city, and I work around the areas mentioned in tale, and am pretty familiar with Barnet, too, and I think the author was pretty spot on with things, other than with regards L'Escargot and the London tube network. I can sometimes get a bee in my bonnet, so I went back and did some research about the history of the Northern Line and that part of the tale and yep, there are a few inconsistencies, unfortunately, but overall, the author portrayed London and the 00s pretty spot on, and hubs (not a Londoner, five years older than me, and therefore a teen in the 70s) thought that the bits I read out to him about the cost of petrol, Bejam, cars du jour, etc. in the 70s, were pretty spot on.
So, it's a murder-mystery tale and it's very well done. I loved the intro to the house and its history through the years, with the Wilsons moving in mid-70s, perpetuating the history of death and concealment, and then Jez and Graham moving in circa 2005 and kind of going full circle, with a few differences. I loved how the house 'chose' to latch itself to one of each era's owners and how insidiously it weaved its way into minds and deeds and thoughts. I thought the tale was really well done, and it was both horrifying in parts (Mrs Wilson's actions in particular, but she got her just desserts) and mysterious about how the past and the various presents connected. I liked the reveals, so casually done, about who was 'haunting' who and how they came to light, and how they got brushed off/concealed; the author definitely had a deft touch there, i.e, not too much emphasis to make me go eureka! too early and then ruin the tale for myself. And, once I was clued in, I began to look out for more little secrets.
I thought that Jez copped a bit of an unfair outcome, but perhaps good was starting to triumph over evil and it was time for the cycle to stop. I thought that the 2034 ending was particularly good, quite believable in a paranormal way, but I would have liked to know what became of the house, and, I loved the hint about a young couple being interested in turning it into a hotel... It did leave me pondering the possibilities - does Jez turn arsonist in a bid to completely stop the cycle? Does the young couple buy and renovate and does the past once again come to life? Does the local council buy it and renovate it as a halfway home/rehab centre and does that start the cycle again? Or, has justice been done and the souls laid to rest forever? Or, is there, pardon the pun, Resident Evil? Questions, questions, questions, lol!
ARC courtesy of Ninestar Press and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
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