The Drowning House by Cherie Priest
Product details
Web ID: 19876569Mysterious and Supernatural
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press as well as the author for this ARC. #NetGalley #PoisonedPenPress #TheDrowningHouse #CheriePriest #Bookreview #Fiction #Thriller #Mystery #Horror Title: The Drowning House Author: Cherie Priest Format: eBook Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Publication Date: July 23, 2024 This isn’t my first read by Cherie Priest and it won’t be my last. I enjoyed this one as I’ve enjoyed her others. This one is about a house being washed up on the shore of a Pacific Northwest Beach. Simon Culpepper disappears soon after, leaving his two best friends from childhood to search for him. They find out a lot about the island, the house and the evil that surrounds it. The writing style of this author is one I find very readable. She creates relatable characters and manages to create supernatural situations and make them sound reasonable. The idea about a house washing up on a shore is fun and unique. The reader is treated to a mystery coupled with supernatural horror. The reader is treated to tidbits of information throughout the story and it was fun trying to guess the ending. I also enjoyed the folk horror woven into these pages. As enjoyable as this was, I did find there to be a lot of information coming at me at once. I would like to see this story move a little faster and simplify some things. All in all, I enjoyed this and will continue to seek out this author.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not Your Average Haunted House Tale
This spooky read was hard to put down. It's a wonderfully dark and atmospheric tale. I especially appreciated the fact that it's a haunted house tale that features not the classic spooky Victorian, but a cursed midcentury modern abode.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Magical atmospheric horror
Melissa receives a phone call from her dear friend Simon about the sudden death of his grandmother. She and Leo, another childhood friend, rush to the island where they grew up. They discover Simon has vanished and an old house has washed up on shore, a house that might have scared Simon’s grandmother to death. While the first half of the book felt a bit slow, it picked up significantly in the second half, where I found myself captivated by the magic and the mystery. The bulk of the story is told through Melissa and Leo’s perspectives with a present time line as well as one that shows them with Simon and his grandmother in the past. Both Melissa and Leo come with tons of baggage. She’s living in Seattle and enjoys her job as a graphic designer, but she doesn’t have a robust social life. Leo is an up and coming realtor, but he hasn’t found Mr. Right. While they have a common interest in supporting Simon and mourning the death of his grandmother, petty rivalries create obstacles. Once they learn to appreciate each other’s unique talents, they can focus on finding Simon and just maybe saving the world. Priest excels in creating realistic characters, a spooky mood, and a weird world where old houses are swept to shore, whispers come from corners, and basements are beyond eerie. As a big fan of epilogues, I found this one to be the cherry on the top of a great read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Drowning House
The Drowning House by Cherie Priest drew me in because of the cover!!! I instantly knew I had to read it. The story begins like an opening scene of a scary movie where something tragic happens and then it cuts to the past. The first scene sets the tone for the rest of the book. We are introduced to Mrs. Culpepper who sees something so terrifying on the beach that she dies instantly. Her grandson, Simon, who was living with her at the time then goes missing. Afterwards Simon's childhood friends, Melissa and Leo, are introduced. The story goes back and forth from past to present with POV of Melissa and Leo. In the past setting we learn more about how their childhood friendship developed. It was great to learn how their friendship grew through each of their POV. In the present time, they both go back to Simon's home to try to find out what happened to him. While they are there they are shocked to learn of the house that surfaced at the beach. They explore that house as well as Mrs. Culpepper's house and uncover a lot of secrets. They are on a mission to find their friend and they work together despite the rivalry that they had over Simon's friendship. What I liked about this story is that it has a setting of isolation that just draws you in. It is mainly Melissa and Leo isolated on the beach while trying to find clues as to where Simon could be. There are also some supernatural elements to the story which i enjoyed. I have mixed feelings about the ending but won't go into spoilers here. I recommend this book for anyone who likes books with isolated settings with a touch of supernatural. Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press. All opinions are my own.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Hooked From Page One!
I want to thank NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for this advance readers copy. The Drowning House, by Cherie Priest, is a dual perspective, dual timeline story about happenings on a remote island in the north west. The story follows Simon, a well-to-do pre-teen, living with his grandmother after a tragic accident killed his parents. Simon is one of three kids growing up among the few residents in this town not even big enough for a real fire department. Melissa, the second child is a summertime visitor that spends all her time on the island with Simon and at his grandmothers house. Leo, a few years younger, is the third to join the crew and stays with his aunt and uncle. In typical 80’s fashion, they’re a bunch of unsupervised kids roaming around doing whatever comes to mind. In present day, Melissa receives a voicemail and text from Simon informing her his grandmother, Mrs. Culpepper died suddenly. Simon asks for her help and Melissa and Leo return to the island they spent so many childhood summers. When they arrive, Simon is missing and there is, quite literally, a battered house washed up on the shoreline. It is up to Melissa and Leo to figure out what happened to Simon before it’s too late. First of all, I’d like to say I went into this book blind and had no idea about any of it. I didn’t so much as read the authors blurb. While I’m not typically a paranormal or fantasy girl, this book kept me glued to the pages. It starts off simple enough, drifting back and forth between time periods, building each character as the years went by. There’s little hints of something supernatural going on, but nothing overtly obvious. As the present day story takes over, you can see how well the author prepared the reader for the quirks and mannerisms each person developed, and why. The character development was absolutely flawless and played out so smoothly. The only con to this story that I had, was imagining the scenes in the basement. I found this author used such vivid imagery from page one, but I still struggled through that part. Maybe it’s just me? Overall, I highly recommend this novel- even if it isn’t usually your cup of tea! I can absolutely see this book being adapted into a movie!
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Creepy
This is not my typical genre, but I'm glad I gave this book a try. When a mysterious house washes ashore and the sight of it makes someone die, you know it's off to a good start. There is a foreboding feeling right from the start and it doesn't let go until the end. This story is creepy, mysterious, haunted and full of secrets that will have you turning page after page to find out what the heck is going on. Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Cherie Priest for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com