Author: Brian Asman
Genre: Comedic horror
Pages: Paperback 200
ISBN: 9781736467725
Opening Lines: "Through the upstairs window, the House watched."
Rating
"Sabrina Haskins and her family havbe just moved into their dream home, a gorgeous Craftsman in the rapidly-growing Southwestern city of Jackson Hill. Sabrina's a bored and disillusioned homemaker, Hal a reverse mortgage salesman with a penchant for ill-timed sports analogies. Their two children, Damien and Michaela, are bright and precocious.
"At first glance, the house is perfect. But things aren't what they seem.
"Sabrina's hearing odd noises, seeing strange visions. Their neighbors are odd or absent. And Sabrina's already-fraught relationship with her son is about to be tested in a way no parent could ever imagine.
"Because while the Hasking family might be the newest owners of 4596 James Circle, they're far from its only residents . . ."
~ Jacket copy
When Hal gets a promotion that will move the family across country, Sabrina finally sees her dreams of leaving Ohio coming true. Living in a town full of broken promises and dreams, she sees this as an opportunity to finally grow and expand. And, on top of that, their new house is her dream home! Aside from the grumbling tweens and a boring, ho-hum marriage, this could finally be her moment. Until she starts seeing weird things in her house and everyone starts questioning her sanity.
The entire horror community has been raving about this book since it was released. And, given the title, I had to give it a chance. Besides, I am a sucker for a good haunted house story (and comedic horror). However, this book is . . . Well, I am not entirely sure what I think about it. Aside from the quirky neighbor (who we see a total of three times), the book revolves around five people—Hal (a boring reverse mortgage salesmen), Sabrina (stereotypical boring housewife), Michaela (tween daughter), Damien (Stewie Griffin knock-off), and the House. All of the characters are extremely flat and two-dimensional. And they were not likable, which made it hard to form a connection with the book.
Reading the book, I struggled determining whether Asman meant to be funny or whether he took himself too seriously. The whole subplot following Damien and his plan seemed out of place and too unbelievable to be serious . . . Honestly, his tone made me second guess myself while reading.
The ending had an interesting twist; however, it felt too Deus ex machina. It was also as though Asman did not know how to finish it, so he just threw something random in as an ending.
If you're looking for different, quirky, and light, this is not a bad read. Is it my favorite? No. It was interesting, but it only gets 3 skulls for various typo, inconsistencies, and issues with characters/ending.
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