Review Detail

Jade Nguyen doesn't want to go and stay with her estranged father, but that's his condition if she wants him to pay her tuition for UPenn. That's six weeks in a 1920s-old abandoned French villa in Vietnam. A house that has connections to her father's past. To make matters worse, Jade senses something isn't right with the house. There are gross bugs and more, plus, a ghost that tries to communicate. Only there are much more sinister things inside a house that not only eats but is eaten. Jade is repelled and drawn to the ghost Cam who shows her a past that includes the true colors of colonization. Also, a truth that has been hidden away. A horrific past that the house has kept hidden.

What worked: Wowza, wow, wow! This spine-tingling horror novel kept me up. I love a good horror novel and this one delivers! Jade struggles with trying to be the 'good' girl and not disappointing her parents. Once in Vietnam, she feels as if she doesn't fit in even though her parents were born in the country. She really doesn't want to go and help her father renovate an old villa with an atmospheric Gothic vibe, but she knows this is what she has to do in order to get tuition money for her first year at college. The creep factor slowly worms its way in starting with the refrigerator that has daily rotten food; silverfish on the walls; ants infected with fungus; and a beautiful ghost that appears and hints at horrible things that happened in the house.

The author's words have a spell-binding beauty that wraps around readers as she shows the house in action. The breathtaking scenes also are very chilling. There's more than one ghost in the house. Jade doesn't know what is real or not. This includes times her father says she's been sleepwalking. Possession takes a grisly twist.

The beauty of the Vietnam colonial house is shown in stark contrast to the brutal reality of the foreigners who treated those native to the county with hatred and disdain. One especially telling piece is a photo Jade finds hidden in the attic where the 1920s owner's wife wrote a racist comment. There are also some retired investors who recite the white-washed history of Vietnam while criticizing the true history and people.

Jade's relationship with her younger sister is very realistic, especially when the ghost's antics take a turn for the worse.

There's also a hint of romance between Jade and Florence, the daughter of one of those investing in the villa.

Beautifully written unique horror tale set in Vietnam where colonization refuses to be silent. In this case, the house engulfs all those who dare to step foot inside.