4.5 rounded up. ( )

I just….I couldn’t stop reading this. I thought I knew what was going on and then I didn’t and then I definitely did. But the whole time I just felt…compelled to know exactly what happened next. But also. Wtf. ( )

oof! what a book. based on other reviews this is very much a love it or hate it book. you're not going to kinda like this. but this was a huge win for me. this had so many things i love/look for in a thriller/horror book like a main character with a dark past, a dysfunctional family, body horror!, claustrophobic - i didn't even know that that was a feeling authors could make you feel through WORDS! and unexpected plot points i never saw coming. i said what the actual heck many times while reading this one. this book truly disturbed me.. in the best way. it was smart, awkward and haunting. it reminds me of this Stephen King quote: “Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” ( )

Viserally disgusting. I liked a few parts but will stand by my 1 star review because I would physically fight this book given a chance. ( )

When her dying, estranged mother calls Vera back home, she packs her life into her car and drives cross-country. If that wasn't strange enough...it gets better. The house she is returning to was built by her father...who was...ready for this?...an infamous serial killer. She also finds an artist, who could well be described as a parasite, renting a space in the backyard shed. His plan is to “collaborate” with the house’s psychic residues. Between her ailing mother’s cruel mood swings, and this artist creep consuming her childhood memories for "inspiration"...the legacy of her father’s love along with his crimes, dd the creepy Crowder house itself derail Vera’s attempts to settle the estate rapidly as she had hoped. The house is filled with secrets, lies, and rot: what else lurks beneath those glossy floorboards is anybody's guess. Another book review describes this story perfectly "This is visceral gothic horror story dedicated to everyone who ever loved a monster.” Nothing in the book gets any easier as the story goes on. The family's drama is full of cruelty, fear, betrayal, and nightmares. The reader begins to understand that there is more than one monster in Crowder House. Overall: I did very much enjoy the story even though it felt a tad uneven, for lack of a better description...in places...but it does leave an unsettling feeling in the atmosphere along with a delightful chill on the back of your neck...so what more could you really ask for from a good horror story? ( )