Review Detail

What worked: A wicked twist on THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. This Gothic horror tale starts slowly and builds when some friends meet during Halloween at an Irish manor. Mix in some Irish urban legends of the Banshee and this is one thriller guaranteed to keep the reader guessing.

Meg isn't like her wealthy friends at an inclusion private school and when Lottie Wren asks her to the retreat to help her get back into school after being suspended? Meg is quick to accept. This is where the story has a whole I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT vibe going for it. Mysterious and creepy things pop up like a maid that no one else sees except Meg. Rumors from the locals circulate of the manor being cursed along with deaths.

I liked how the reader is kept guessing on what is fact and what is just rumors. Meg's so-called friend's truths are revealed after an Ouiji board reading. Then one friend goes missing. More unanswered questions and some subtle creepiness have Meg second-guessing her stay. And it doesn't help that Meg has a troubling past that implicates her.

The Wren twins are beautiful, talented, and very wealthy. I admit I was surprised at who was playing who in this suspenseful novel. Seb's warning at the beginning of the story is one that Meg later wishes she heeded. All the friends have their secrets. Some are darker than others.

Slow moving at times, the author does go back and forth in time which can be distracting. Readers see what leads up to the reason behind Meg's school suspension, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Gothic horror mixed with secrets and the urban Irish legend of the Banshee set in a creepy manor in Ireland.