Heather’s Bookshelf: The Misery House: The House on the Hill Book 1
Author: David Kummer
Released: 07/07/23
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Horror
“The smoke didn’t really matter. I just wanted to know how bad the damage was, if anyone had been injured. But the smoke was an omen of far worse things to come.”
“The Misery House” is Book 1 of a planned trilogy but was reviewed as a standalone tale. The story introduces the Woods family, Cliff and Naomi and their two children Nate and Kaia, living in a rural town called New Haven. It’s a sleepy little town, with long held secrets and one very scary and abandoned house at the top of the hill.
The story begins with most of the people of New Haven joined together to watch their hometown kids playing baseball. Cliff and Naomi are watching Nate with their good friend Jeremy. There’s also the new family with the son who’s just a little bit different... But when smoke is seen coming from in town, everything changes.
The smoke is a result of a devastating fire that destroys a beloved local shop. When the shop’s owner and his young son are found dead inside, the sheriff begins to believe this wasn’t an accident.
Kaia Woods wasn’t at the game, instead attending her best friend’s wedding. She’s not a fan of Malaki, the groom, but wants to support Allison in her decision. When the couple goes missing, everyone fears the worst. Will the Woods family be able to find the truth while saving their friends and family?
Trigger Warning: violence, adult language, reference to murder/death, arson, animal death
Overall, I enjoyed the premise of this book and the promise of the series more than the story itself. There is an element of how the story is told that reminded me of old fireside scary stories and I found that to be endearing. I also enjoyed how the author does a great job in weaving in some of the good and bad of living in a small town (the comradery and the prejudices). However, while the story is mostly told through a combination of the Woods family member’s POVs, I felt very little connection to members of the town (including Cliff, Jeremy, and Allison) which really deterred from the emotional connection of what occurs. The horror portions are spaced nicely and keeps the pacing of the tale moving smoothly in portions that come off as a little more clunky. The horror itself is not gory and tends to stay more in the psychological realm of the genre, with a couple of scenes deterring me from reading more at night. I wouldn’t really even describe this book as ending or as a cliffhanger- it more just stops. If there wasn’t an acknowledgement after the last page, I would have thought the e-copy got cut off. As always, I’m not a fan of cliffhangers and even though the author states this will be book 1 of 3, I would probably wait for at least book 2 to come out before reading the first.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An interesting concept, well written horror elements, and small town setting lack needed emotional character connection and an element of finality.
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here
Interested in submitting your book for review? Visit my review page for guidelines and submission requirements.
