If you've read one of my reviews before, you've probably heard me mention once or twice how much I love the haunted house genre. Combine that with the fact that this is coming out of Silver Shamrock and the epic cover design from ElderLemon, and I was ready for this one to hit my shelf.
John Quick writes in a way that had me turning pages, and honestly it needs to be commended because I can't pinpoint exactly what is. The chapters aren't particularly short, the pacing isn't breakneck, it's certainly not a bullet thriller, and none of the other usual suspects that cause me to fly through a book rear their ugly heads.
I guess that only leaves the age-old I needed to find out what happens next.
The story centers on Katherine, a divorcee looking for a fresh start, and finding it in a house in a small Tennessee town. As you might suspect, the town doesn't warm to outsiders and we get an immediate vibe that it's more because of the address than the occupant. As the book unfurls we learn more about the history of the house and the history of Katherine as the two come to a head over the course of 325 pages.
Quick clearly worked hard to bring a strong female protagonist to life, and succeeds, but something felt off to me. Katherine has a tragic backstory, is likable enough, and shows herself to be strong throughout the story by refusing to abandon the house. The problem is that even with all this going, she feels like something of an amalgam of strong female characters, and gives off a one dimensional character vibe. Put it on me as a reader, but I had trouble feeling a connection to my lead here.
Alston House is very much a slow-burn horror story, and as mentioned before, it's very difficult to put down. I can't really think of any other books that so clearly demonstrate both those aspects. The revelations about the house's history and the finale are not groundbreaking but do leave the reader respectively horrified and satisfied.
If you like a good haunted house story, and don't mind that it's going to take you on an spookular, enjoyable journey without reinventing the wheel, this book just might be for you.

I received an e-book from the publisher for review consideration