A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new horror novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don’t Die and Horseman.
Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not totally a coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making horror films that thrilled audiences—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.
Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe—she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of keeping her job, but she soon finds that the forbidding house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.
My Review
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As the pandemic begins to wind down, single mom Harry takes a housekeeping job at the home of famous horror-movie director Javier Castillo. Castillo has been a recluse in his house full of movie memorabilia since a tragedy that forced him from the public eye and Hollywood. Harry, a horror movie fan herself, is content to do her job and leave, until she begins to notice strange things happening in the house. Then, her employer invites her and her son over for dinner after never speaking to her except in a professional capacity. Something is going on at the home, named “Bright Horses,” and Harry just hopes she can escape it alive.
This book is certainly an ode to horror movies, and like in a horror movie, I was sitting there thinking, “Don’t do it, Oh no, she’s going to do it…….Yup, there she goes……” It was so good in that way. Just a fun escape in that way, like a great thriller that you can sink your teeth into. I was intrigued from the beginning and wanted to know how it was all going to end.
There are some good twists and turns in there, and while I guessed some, I didn’t guess others. But I didn’t think that was a bad thing. Because like in a good horror movie, the real value of the scare is seeing the villain rise up and seeing everything really laid out on the table. And this one has some real horrors in there. It’s enough to give you the creeps and never enter a gothic mansion again.
I enjoyed this callback to some classic gothic thrillers, mixed in with the homage to the movie industry. I was really into it and loved the characters. They alone were well worth the read.
Pick this one up if you’re looking for a good, creepy read to distract you for a weekend!
About the Author
Christina Henry is a horror and dark fantasy author whose works include Horseman, Near the Bone, The Ghost Tree, Looking Glass, The Girl in Red, The Mermaid, Lost Boy, Alice, Red Queen, and the seven-book urban fantasy Black Wings series. Learn more online at www.christinahenry.net.
Check out an exclusive excerpt of “The House That Horror Built” after the Jump!
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