Chris Sorensen

It's taken me a while to work out why this book didn't work for me. It has a lot going for it. It's written about an audiobook narrator by an audiobook narrator, which adds some authenticity and gives some creepy ways of being haunted in a small box in the basement. It has an original and very clever twist on the haunted house trope. The story of who is haunting whom and why is very different from the standard haunted house trope. The resolution is equally innovative. The plot is soaked in that unique distress that comes from bad things happening to children.

And yet, I could not get into this book.

I was listening to the audiobook version, which is narrated by the author, who is a professional and prolific audiobook narrator but who I didn't enjoy listening to To me, the main character sounded too old and too weak to fit well with the text. The narration didn't add to the tension and sometimes detracted from it.

I didn't like the main character, which is often an OK thing but, in this case, I didn't believe in him either. For all sorts of reasons, he wasn't a very reliable narrator but even so, I couldn't match his motives to his actions,

I especially didn't believe in the relationship between the husband and wife. They'd recently lost a child, survived an attempt at self-harm and uprooted themselves from their support network and moved across the country without having a good understanding of what they would find when they arrived. I think this would put most couples under huge stress. There would be fights, guilt, recriminations, tensions and emotional distance. There was a little of this at the beginning of the book but we were soon treated to cloyingly sentimental dialogue that both people seemed to old for and a sugary, second-honeymoon romance type of relationship that I couldn't believe in.

Then there were the convenient 'experts' who helped our hero solve his problems. They seemed like a plot device with a little bit of Goth-girl eccentricity thrown in in lieu of a personality. It was too pat for me.

Some of the scenes, especially before I knew what was going on, were quite scary and the mixture of dream and memory was well done.

Then there was the ending. It worked. Or at least the logic did. And it was original. But it also felt too nice and too easy - a sort of cop-out for a horror book.

Perhaps my problem was that I went in expecting a clever haunted house horror book and got a clever fairytale instead.

I'm sure lots of people would have fun with this but I won't be reading the rest of the series.… (más)

We meet Peter and Hannah. The young couple are still coming to terms with the tragic death of their son, Michael. Peter's mother and father are moved into a nursing home due to their failing health, and Peter and Hannah move back to Peter's hometown to try and start afresh. Because of some details that I didn’t really understand, and red tape, they are unable to move into Peter's family home but are instead offered an old farmhouse that Peter's dad owned. Hannah immediately gets a job in the local bar. Peter is less excited by the prospect of living there and feels there is something definitely “off” about the place...as though his presence has awoken something terrifying... and has it ever!!! The first half of the story is a slow burn. We only see glimpses of the terror that we know is about to come. The scares really start in the second half. By now Peter is almost a bonafide basket case. He sees and hears someone walking around. Checking finds of course no one is there. He begins to have creepy dreams...but are they dreams at all? He sees someone literally coming out of the woodwork. It's all going downhill fast for our Peter, but he doesn’t want to worry Hannah. He has yet to speak about what he’s seen and heard or asked Hannah what, if anything she has experienced. This was a good work of horror. The root of the story and the characters are clearly shown in a reality that the reader can easily place themselves into, making the frights all the more horrible and personal for the reader.… (más)

I really enjoyed his previous book, “The Nightmare Room”, but this one a little more. It’s sequel and it doesn't disappoint. We visit some of the characters from the first book again but see them in a different light. You really do need to read the first book before this one...but this one can stand well on its own with new characters and plot twists. Basically...without giving too much away... Jesse buys a hotel that was a scene of multi murders. I guess she didn't expect anything strange to happen. As you have more than likely guessed... she was wrong. You can find out how wrong and meet the new characters which includes a smart little boy...a psychic... and a cow. Just for the record, the cow is totally innocent.… (más)

The opening prologue is horrifying. In fact, all of the scenes with the little boy are terrifying and heartbreaking. If you are a horror story enthusiasts'...this is exactly what you want in a horror story. The one thing that I believe would have made it better for me was if the adults had been more fearful. Finding these events taking place in your life surely should evoke, if not actual terror, at least a higher degree of fear. Chris Sorensen should have taken the emotions of the little boy and applied them to the adult characters. What we have is a haunted house...but it is so much more than that. The suspense and anticipation kept me flipping the pages. There were plenty of chills, thrills, and bumps in the night. First, I feared for Peter, then Hannah, who would not let him face IT alone. The story seemed familiar.... but it didn’t stay that way. I loved the spin Chris Sorensen gave “The Nightmare Room” and the ending...very well done.… (más)