Come On Up To The House Book Review

                        Hey Everyone!

Earlier on this month I was kindly sent a copy of ‘Come On Up To The House’ (available here) horror novel/screenplay written by author Dane Cobain, author of No Rest For The Wicked. I am a massive fan of all things gore and horror, so I was super excited to receive a signed copy of his latest novel. Recently I have been devouring book upon book, so I was excited to get snug in bed with my new bedtime drink of chamomile tea and begin my latest read.

This book gives a nod to some of my favourite horror films such as The Amityville Horror and Insidious, as well as one of my favourite horror novels The Shining. A family moves to a new home and immediately are met with an unfriendly presence, strange neighbours and a handful of unexpected shock twists right up until the end. I highly anticipate this book being made into a Hollywood movie as I for one would be front row, edge of my seat with popcorn in hand!

The story begins with the Jersey family on the journey to their new home and particularly follows the story of the angst-ridden teenager Darren as he struggles to cope with the family upheaval  to a new location, but also with the dark secret that the house holds. As the story unfolds you begin to learn something isn’t quite right with the new family home and although the move seems to have effected everyone in the Jersey family, Darren’s character is beginning to darken as he becomes more and more withdrawn as the days go by. It got off onto a slow start but I got to a point with the story where I didn’t want to put the book down and wanted to continue to unravel the grim history that the house holds and exactly what was happening to Darren. Dane Cobain does an amazing job at bringing to life the story in my mind with his sufficient depth and creativity with words. The story had a clear, consistent flow and I didn't feel lost or confused at any point thought the story. Below is a small extract taken from the book.

"The window was open, and a cold wind blew from it. Something seemed odd. Then Dave remembered that the window had been stuck shut since they moved in. He stared at the blood on the handle and the branches of the oak tree stretching menacingly towards him." 

When reading a novel I find myself connecting with one of the main characters but I didn’t really empathise with the main character Darren and wasn’t seeing the story through his perspective, which I felt would have been beneficial and crucial to the plot, understanding what was going on in his mind and how he was coming undone. Even though he is the main character I wasn’t feeling that connection with him which I think is the only thing that I would have liked to see, more of a bond and understanding with a main character. When something so dramatic is happening I want to see that characters feelings and thoughts coming out of the pages so I think for me that was the only thing lacking.

The writing style is something I haven’t seen before, with half of the book written as a novel and the other half as a screenplay. The screenplay gave me a good understanding of the feel of the characters but I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, feeling perturbed when I approached “The End” because I wanted more!

Come On Up To The House left me feeling uneasy and wanting more… When is it being made into a movie?! You can read all about the author of this novel and his other works here.