The Whispering House Review

 

The Whispering House 

By: Elizabeth Brooks

Released: August 6th, 2020

Pages: 352

My Rating: /5 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella's suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella - a portrait she has no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought. 

Driven to find out more about her sister's secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya's relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out. 

My Review:

Listen, not every book is going to be "for me" and that's okay. This is one of those books. I left this one feeling so dang frustrated by all the characters and just the overall plot and outcome of the book. The synopsis makes this sound so promising but for me, it fell flat. 

First of all, this book is surrounded by the death of Stella but fails to give much backstory of Stella at all which makes you feel virtually nothing towards her. In the moments she is talked about she is portrayed as a spoiled brat and not in a good light whatsoever. Freya is the character that does everything you scream at her not to do. She leaves her home to travel to where her sister was found dead and to find out more about her death but it turns into some soul searching mid life crisis. When things go south for Freya, there were so many times she actively could have gotten out of it but chose not to do anything. There is not a single character in this book that I enjoyed. The only one with some sense to her is Maggie, and she is mentioned about five times in the book. 

While I do not think this is a completely horrible book, it was just not for me. I had a hard time getting into it and could not wait to just finish it. If this book has taught me anything, it's that I do not think gothic novels are for me. I want to like them so badly but always seem to walk away wanting more. Do you like gothic horror? If so, what's your favorite one? 

Signing off, 

Molly