This was a new author to me and I wasn't disappointed as this book Sick House was a crazy ghostly mess! Some of it was spooky, but it was mostly suspenseful, tense, and downright twisted!

I do have a warning for readers with queasy stomachs as there is quite a bit of torture and gore in the beginning of the book. So if you cannot handle extreme situations then this book might not be for you, but the readers that love torture, gore, and extreme horror, then by all means pick up this book!

Boyd and Adeline Gardner along with their children, Naomi and Paige move into a new home as Boyd has a new job and they wanted to be close to his work. The family hasn't been in the house very long and they notice something is happening to the groceries they bought. Some of the food is in an advanced stage of molding and rotting. They are concerned that there is something wrong with the air quality of the house, so they have an inspector that comes out to the house.

The inspector cleans the air ducts and everything seems fine with the air quality to the point of the groceries are no longer rotting. That night though things change and the atmosphere in the house shifts. When ghosts make an appearance is when things start getting freaky and the Gardners find themselves trapped in the house with no escape.

Who are the ghosts? Why are they haunting the house? What happens to the Gardners when the ghosts appear? Are the Gardners able to escape the house? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book.

This book kicks off fast in the first chapter and the momentum of the book picks up speed as the more I became involved in the storyline, the more I wanted to continue reading to see what would happen next. When the ghosts make an appearance is when the book kicks into high gear and doesn't let up all the way to the end. I have some more books by this author and I will be reading them soon. Giving this book four "twisted" stars! ( )

3.5*/5*

SICK HOUSE is yet another example of Jeff Strand's crazy and sick mind. What fun!

It's a relatively short book written in such a way that it just flies by. There's crime, violence, murder, witchcraft, a haunted house, lots of blood and gore and a satisfying ending. What else is there to say?

Recommended for those who like their in horror in short, bloody bites!

*I bought this book with my hard earned money and it was worth it!* ( )

Jeff Strand is pretty diverse with his books. He writes young adult books, not-quite-rom-com books, fun suspense, fun horror, and of course straight horror. SICK HOUSE is one of his straight horror books. Sure, it has some of his trademark comedy and fun quips in the first half of the book but only enough to help establish the characters. (More on that later.) The bulk of the book is horror, scares, and gore.

The story: the Gardners are a happy family of four. The father Boyd recently got promoted so they had to move to a new house, a larger house where the two daughters can each have their own room. Not everything is happy though. The house starts to have an affect on the Gardner family. A food rotting, hot baths freezing, eye gouging type of affect. And then the ghosts appear.

I liked the story and thought that it was a clever spin on the haunted house story: part poltergeist, part ghost, part more. And Strand really made this story gruesome and gory. The torture that all the characters went through had me cringing and wincing in sympathy pain. However, I found that the Gardner family kind of blended together; it was difficult for me to hear each character's voice and imagine them. I think the problem for me was that each family member used that trademark humor and that made it hard to see if it was the wife saying it or the teenage daughter. They were too similar. The ghosts though all stood out to me and were different. As always I look forward to more straight horror from Strand. I also look forward to more fun suspense books and fun horror books. Let's just say that I look forward to more from Strand. ( )

I had a good time with this book. This was a really nice change of pace which was exactly what I was looking for. I don't read horror all that often but I almost always enjoy it when I do decide to pick one up. This was a really quick read that hooked me right from the start. I am so glad that I decided to pick up something a little different than my usual reading fare.

Boyd and his family are excited to get a fresh start when he gets a promotion. They find what they believe to be a perfect house for their family in their new town and are thrilled to move in. Then some strange things start happening. Food goes bad almost as soon as it comes into the house. There is an incident with the family's pet tarantula. Then things really start to get crazy.

I really liked Boyd and his family right from the start. They really seemed to be excited about the move and they kept a pretty positive attitude about things until events became out of control. I loved the way that Boyd and his wife, Adeline, always put the kids first and did everything in their power to protect them. The kids seemed to handle things better than could be expected and some pretty important scenes in the book revolve around them so they were important players in the story.

I did enjoy the first half of the book a bit more than the second half. I was almost holding my breath trying to figure out what was going on in this house. I knew that something big would happen and I think the anticipation really added to the overall enjoyment for me. After some of the big events started, the excitement level stayed at a very high level until the book came to a conclusion. I did enjoy the action and liked that there were some pretty creepy and gory scenes but the mystery of the story seemed to fade a bit. I did appreciate the epilogue and liked that there were a few surprises saved until the very end of the novel.

This was my first experience listening to Joe Hempel's narration and I kind of feel like I might have been missing out. I thought he did a fantastic job with this book and I am pretty sure that I liked the story even more because I made the decision to listen to the book. He did a great job with all of the voices and was able to add a lot of excitement to the story. I definitely hope to listen to more books by this narrator in the future.

I would recommend this book to horror fans. This was a really interesting take on a haunted house story with plenty of gruesome and scary moments to keep things entertaining. This was my first time reading any of Jeff Strand's work and I look forward to reading more in the future.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the narrator or author via Audiobook Boom. ( )