Published by: Turner
Pub Date: 19 Nov 2019
Genre: Horror
Pages: 304
Date Read: 03 Mar 2023
This whole thing is a spoiler!
I normally have no issues with abandoning a book, but with less than 100 pages from the end, I finished this. Solely so I could count it as read for all my trouble.
I felt so duped. I liked Felix at the beginning. I liked his relationship with his wife. I liked that his best friend came to be with him in a haunted house. I would actually want to do something like this in real life. I love the idea of this book! Such an interesting take. By the end, though, the main character Felix is an unlikable dirtbag. His monologing about how shitty his life became, because of Thomas, was becoming unbearable to read. I hated that this was not in fact a ghost story with real freaking ghosts and instead was just some asshole who murders his wife and best friend, then descends into madness over it.
I used to spoil books quite often. I would jump to the end to see if it was all worth it. I had, until this book, stopped doing that. When Thomas shows up, it is hinted that there was some sort of rift between them. Then it was hinted at nonstop, without any explanation as to what it was. When I didn’t actually see what I was looking for in my “skimming the ending”, I went online and read the one star reviews. So I finished the book, fully aware of Thomas being dead and just a product of Felix’s imagination. Even without that knowledge, Felix just becomes so unlikable and whiny, forcing Thomas to be sad and contrite. Which yes he should be looking for a way to redeem himself IF HE WEREN’T DEAD! There’s also a sleazy line about how he “viciously laid claim” and just yikes.
I think had I gone into this not expecting a ghost story, I would have liked it. That’s not what I got and I’m disappointed.