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Creep
Olivia is curious about the people moving into 16 Olcott Place. The last family there moved out in the dead of night, and the new family, the Donahues, has no idea why. Olivia becomes fast friends with Janie Donahue . . . so she's there at the house when the first of the letters arrives:
--I am the Sentry of Glennon Heights. Long ago I claimed 16 Olcott Place as levy for my guardianship. The walls will not tolerate your trespass. The ceilings will bleed and the windows will shatter. If you do not cease your intrusion, the rooms will soon smell of corpses.--
Who is the Sentry? And why does the Sentry want the Donahues out of the house badly enough to kill? As Olivia and Janie explore the house, they find a number of sinister secrets . . . and as they explore their town, they find a hidden history that the Sentry wants to remain hidden forever.
You can lock the doors. You can close the windows. But you can't keep the Sentry out. . . .
--I am the Sentry of Glennon Heights. Long ago I claimed 16 Olcott Place as levy for my guardianship. The walls will not tolerate your trespass. The ceilings will bleed and the windows will shatter. If you do not cease your intrusion, the rooms will soon smell of corpses.--
Who is the Sentry? And why does the Sentry want the Donahues out of the house badly enough to kill? As Olivia and Janie explore the house, they find a number of sinister secrets . . . and as they explore their town, they find a hidden history that the Sentry wants to remain hidden forever.
You can lock the doors. You can close the windows. But you can't keep the Sentry out. . . .
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2019
About the author
Eireann Corrigan
11 books123 followersEireann Corrigan was born in 1977. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and New York University. She currently lives in New Jersey with her kitten Sumo. When she grows up, she hopes to marry Bob Dylan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
September 21, 2019
I believe CREEP is more of a 3.5 rating. This book has a pretty good story line but is not very well written. The story left out some information as to why this was all happening!
April 13, 2021
Honestly? I didn't like it. This story was very rushed and has so many plot holes that didn't get filled and so many unanswered questions that would have made the story better if they would have been answered. If the story would have had more details in it I think it could have had the potential to be a good book but sadly it fell very flat. No details were given at all and if they were, they were very vague and few and far between.
I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be a young adult book but it reads more like a bad middle grade novel, almost like a scary childrens book. The writing wasn't good and it jumped from event to event so fast and badly that most of the time I was lost and didn't understand what was happening. Then, there's the whole big twist at the end and parts of it didn't make sense at all and you barely get any insight of the events that followed. It left me personally, almost angry with how it turned out because I was expecting something different entierly and what I did get really wasn't that much and was just a small snippet. The synopsis and cover really set this book up for failure. It made it seem like this book was going to be thrilling and creepy when in all honesty this whole book was almost entirely about the friendship between the main characters and had little to do with the actual problem of a person stalking there house and sending them creepy letters. When it did have to do with that it didn't touch on it very much. Maybe for a young reader just starting out on thrillers who doesn't want to be scared but wants a very small taste of what to expect from very tame thrillers? I'd say this would be a good book. But for someone very experienced in thrillers? Don't pick this one up. I only finished it because I was really hoping that it would end up turning around in the end but nope it stayed boring through out. I wanted to dnf this book so many times it wasn't funny but I forced myself through it in hopes of a turn around only to be met with disappointment. I feel I may have rated and judged this book to harshly but that's my honest opinion on it.
I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be a young adult book but it reads more like a bad middle grade novel, almost like a scary childrens book. The writing wasn't good and it jumped from event to event so fast and badly that most of the time I was lost and didn't understand what was happening. Then, there's the whole big twist at the end and parts of it didn't make sense at all and you barely get any insight of the events that followed. It left me personally, almost angry with how it turned out because I was expecting something different entierly and what I did get really wasn't that much and was just a small snippet. The synopsis and cover really set this book up for failure. It made it seem like this book was going to be thrilling and creepy when in all honesty this whole book was almost entirely about the friendship between the main characters and had little to do with the actual problem of a person stalking there house and sending them creepy letters. When it did have to do with that it didn't touch on it very much. Maybe for a young reader just starting out on thrillers who doesn't want to be scared but wants a very small taste of what to expect from very tame thrillers? I'd say this would be a good book. But for someone very experienced in thrillers? Don't pick this one up. I only finished it because I was really hoping that it would end up turning around in the end but nope it stayed boring through out. I wanted to dnf this book so many times it wasn't funny but I forced myself through it in hopes of a turn around only to be met with disappointment. I feel I may have rated and judged this book to harshly but that's my honest opinion on it.
Want to read
January 24, 2019omg is this based on The Watcher House? I haven't stopped thinking about that story
February 15, 2020
A disappointing read. The story didn’t live up to the blurb. I was expecting something creepier than what actually happened in the story. The first chapter turns the creepy on and I expected something supernatural but even the threatening notes delivered to the family don’t result in anything spooky. I found the main character a tad annoying too so didn’t connect with her.
Not sure what kids I would recommend it to (not the kids who like spooky stories but maybe the kids who like mystery stories).
Not sure what kids I would recommend it to (not the kids who like spooky stories but maybe the kids who like mystery stories).
January 1, 2020
It was a fast read and sorta creepy. I expected something different but it definitely wasn’t bad
September 26, 2019
{My thoughts} – Based on the title of the book I knew it was going to be creepy, but it wasn’t too creepy. I really enjoyed reading about the friendship and bond that Olivia had made with the Donahue children. It goes to show that you can make unusual friendships in some of the most unusual ways.
The Donahue family buy their house after it’s been on the market for a couple of months. It was in their price range and their entire family needed a new start. The previous owners decided to sell in the middle of the night and that was pretty much how things happened. It seemed like over night there were new neighbors.
Since Olivia and Janie became fast friends, Olivia was at the house when the first creepy letter showed up in the mail slot. It scared everyone in the house because of the things it said, but no one took it real serious. Things changed after the second letter turned up. Everyone seemed to be on edge and not sure how to respond or react to the entire situation.
Olivia, Janie and the other Donahue children start piecing together the puzzle of what happened in the past. They start piecing together what is happening now and they start to understand somethings are beyond their control.
This book has just the right amount of creepy in it that it isn’t frightening. It is a light soft read mostly about friendship and sticking together when things go in odd directions. It’s about family and understanding that even when your an outsider, you can still become a member of the family if your around long enough and take part in the family discussions that take place.
I really think that children that are a fan of light horror and mystery will really enjoy reading this book.
The Donahue family buy their house after it’s been on the market for a couple of months. It was in their price range and their entire family needed a new start. The previous owners decided to sell in the middle of the night and that was pretty much how things happened. It seemed like over night there were new neighbors.
Since Olivia and Janie became fast friends, Olivia was at the house when the first creepy letter showed up in the mail slot. It scared everyone in the house because of the things it said, but no one took it real serious. Things changed after the second letter turned up. Everyone seemed to be on edge and not sure how to respond or react to the entire situation.
Olivia, Janie and the other Donahue children start piecing together the puzzle of what happened in the past. They start piecing together what is happening now and they start to understand somethings are beyond their control.
This book has just the right amount of creepy in it that it isn’t frightening. It is a light soft read mostly about friendship and sticking together when things go in odd directions. It’s about family and understanding that even when your an outsider, you can still become a member of the family if your around long enough and take part in the family discussions that take place.
I really think that children that are a fan of light horror and mystery will really enjoy reading this book.
November 18, 2019
I was hoping this book would have been a little different. It was about teenagers trying to solve the mystery about the Sentry. The Donahue's, the new neighbors had recently moved into the new neighborhood. I was thinking that it was ghost, but I keep seeing the cover of the book. Plus, the candy, sleeping bag, and other items. That made me realize that it was not a ghost. It was only a disgruntled person that wanted to buy the house. So, he was sneaking around, invading, and spying on the family that lived in 16 Olcott Place. In the end, it was discovered who the culprit was. The person would end up in the library one day if someone submitted the collection about the Sentry that haunted 16 Olcott place. An actual person that terrorized whomever moved in there because he wanted to buy the home.
October 23, 2021
3.5 Stars
An entertaining YA mystery. It's somewhat uneven, deep at times, barely skimming the surface of its characters at others. After quite a bit of build-up, the ending felt rushed, but I was engaged enough that I stayed up till after 2am to see how everything turned out. If you're a follower of true crime, this would likely put you in mind of The Watcher (New Jersey). Not a bad way to pre-game for Halloween. Fun fact: the coffee shop named in Creep, "Slave to the Grind," is an actual place. Haven't been there in ages but seem to recall their brownies being excellent.
An entertaining YA mystery. It's somewhat uneven, deep at times, barely skimming the surface of its characters at others. After quite a bit of build-up, the ending felt rushed, but I was engaged enough that I stayed up till after 2am to see how everything turned out. If you're a follower of true crime, this would likely put you in mind of The Watcher (New Jersey). Not a bad way to pre-game for Halloween. Fun fact: the coffee shop named in Creep, "Slave to the Grind," is an actual place. Haven't been there in ages but seem to recall their brownies being excellent.
August 9, 2022
Meh.... i guess its alright for a YA novel. not the best, but not the worst. could have used a little more explanation on why the things that happened happened. the way Corrigan writes is.... weird. not bad, just different. very pre teenagerish.... which makes sense. she could have made a better use of the house by creating a more foreboding feeling and suspense.
December 15, 2022
Was ok, I felt like the story was very rushed and there was a lot of things that I didn’t understand and things that didn’t make sense while I was reading this book but I feel like it had a little of potential but overall was good just not my type of book
July 3, 2023
I just couldn’t finish this book it had no relation to the plot written on the back it had a horrible age gap for a relationship building and the amount of plot holes regarding the actual mystery
I DNF it with about 100 pages left
I haven’t dnf’ed a book in over 2 years this I just couldn’t
I DNF it with about 100 pages left
I haven’t dnf’ed a book in over 2 years this I just couldn’t
August 17, 2019
Ehh. Full review to come.
Read
December 18, 2019Amazing Book If you like a little Creep in It
January 8, 2022
4.5 stars. A surprisingly introspective snapshot of an incoming high school freshman with a dash of creepery.
Read
October 11, 2019DNF @ 6%... I'm sorry. I had high hopes for this one but the main character was way too shallow and kind of air headed for my liking.
June 6, 2021
Kept me guessing the whole time, but there were parts that were pretty far-fetched, even for a YA mystery. Ultimately a fun easy read.
November 5, 2019
Well done thriller for the Teen/YA range. Good job with spreading the paranoia and those red herrings!
March 25, 2022
The buildup throughout this novel was enjoyable and interesting, so much so that I was decently disappointed when the conflict of the story was solved in one chapter. Also, for Olivia and Janie to seize talking even after Janie’s family moved was disappointing as well, as a large part of the story was based off their friendship. I feel as though it came to a sudden, unnecessary end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2019
I didn't expect anything from this book but I'm so pleasantly surprised!
December 16, 2023
Can the teenagers of Glennon Heights solve the mystery of 16 Olcott? Only time will tell and a visit to the library wouldn't hurt. Felt like I was reading a present day Nancy Drew mystery. Enjoyable YA read.
May 10, 2020
This book was ok. I really really liked the plot behind it, and that's the reason I bought it. The whole mystery of who the Sentry is the whole time was a great read, but not all of it was great.
Positives:
- I love how the sentry was introduced from the first letter even though you are introduced to him before that as Ned Mcgovern, even though we don't know yet.
-I thought the secret passage ways that they kept finding throughout the book in the house was so cool and interesting. I couldn't wait to know what they found like the sleeping bag, Boy Scout badges, and the food.
- When Ben, Janie, and Liv went to the library go uncover what they found in the hiding places, I really liked how they found out who the Sentry was.
Negatives:
- Hard to follow at times because of the way it is written.
- I hated the Ben and Liv romance story because I don't think it was needed. There was one chapter where they went on a "Date", but they never talk about it again. Liv's inner monologue talks about it, but Ben and Liv do not further their romance after that. I felt it was unnecessary to the story.
- I did not like that the last 15 pages were the only time they confronted the Sentry, and the way he was "Caught" was not described or clear.
- I thought the "fight" scene with the dad and Mcgovern at the end was too short for the epic finale.
- I think there should have been a better ending because basically Liv just says "So basically Janie and I don't talk anymore and same with Ben the end". It deserved a better ending
Overall: 2 1/2 out of 5
Positives:
- I love how the sentry was introduced from the first letter even though you are introduced to him before that as Ned Mcgovern, even though we don't know yet.
-I thought the secret passage ways that they kept finding throughout the book in the house was so cool and interesting. I couldn't wait to know what they found like the sleeping bag, Boy Scout badges, and the food.
- When Ben, Janie, and Liv went to the library go uncover what they found in the hiding places, I really liked how they found out who the Sentry was.
Negatives:
- Hard to follow at times because of the way it is written.
- I hated the Ben and Liv romance story because I don't think it was needed. There was one chapter where they went on a "Date", but they never talk about it again. Liv's inner monologue talks about it, but Ben and Liv do not further their romance after that. I felt it was unnecessary to the story.
- I did not like that the last 15 pages were the only time they confronted the Sentry, and the way he was "Caught" was not described or clear.
- I thought the "fight" scene with the dad and Mcgovern at the end was too short for the epic finale.
- I think there should have been a better ending because basically Liv just says "So basically Janie and I don't talk anymore and same with Ben the end". It deserved a better ending
Overall: 2 1/2 out of 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2019
I READ THIS WHOLE THING IN A FEW HOURS.
If you're a fan of true crime, especially unsolved mysteries, chances are you've heard of the Watcher house. This book is SUPER similar to that case! In the beginning, you're introduced to something called "The Sentry" who has been watching 16 Olcott Place for generations. He sends threatening and scary letters to the family, and Olivia, her friend Janie, and Janie's siblings (who live at the house) are trying to figure out who the Sentry is and how to stop him. It's a small town, so it's full of gossip about everything, so they are also trying to avoid becoming a spectacle. Janie's fun and exciting and totally different from any of Olivia's friends that she's had up to this point, so she really wants to help solve the mystery. But the Donahue's might not be as normal as they seem...
see my full review of Creep HERE!!
If you're a fan of true crime, especially unsolved mysteries, chances are you've heard of the Watcher house. This book is SUPER similar to that case! In the beginning, you're introduced to something called "The Sentry" who has been watching 16 Olcott Place for generations. He sends threatening and scary letters to the family, and Olivia, her friend Janie, and Janie's siblings (who live at the house) are trying to figure out who the Sentry is and how to stop him. It's a small town, so it's full of gossip about everything, so they are also trying to avoid becoming a spectacle. Janie's fun and exciting and totally different from any of Olivia's friends that she's had up to this point, so she really wants to help solve the mystery. But the Donahue's might not be as normal as they seem...
see my full review of Creep HERE!!
August 10, 2023
this book is so pointless. like it’s genuinely so ok. i liked the main character. but other than that, there was no good character development. the man who ended up being the sentry made no sense. he wasn’t really even present throughout the book except for a few forced times. i feel like it was originally supposed to be miss abbott. i mean it makes much more sense. the chocolate, the cell service, her obsession with town history. i don’t know. i just don’t care about this book at all. also, the town murders??? that could have been a huge part of this plot. it was mentioned often, but had no purpose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2019
Picked this up while volunteering at my muffler schooler’s book fair and was intrigued by the storyline. Ended up reading the first chapter, so decided to buy it and bring it home to finish. It was a very entertaining read and kept me guessing until the end, which may or may not say something about my sleuthing skills.. but either way, I would have loved this as a middle school or high school kid. So I based my rating on pretending I was my former YA self. I enjoyed it!
May 7, 2021
Disappointed. This story was not creepy, scary, adventurous, or mysterious at all. There was nothing special about this book. The story was so different from the synopsis. It is so boring to read about. There wasn't any build-up or climax. Just random points scattered around everywhere. I will not recommended. Can't believe how a horror book can make the reader want to fall asleep reading it.
November 20, 2022
What the hell kind of ending was that????
May 19, 2023
(SPOILERS!)I read the book Creep by Eireann Corrigan. The lexile level is 750. The grade level is 7-9. The book is about a girl Olivia who gets new neighbors. She becomes friends with the girl, Janie, her age who lived there. When they were just settling into the house, they got this weird note in the mail. The letter was threatening them that if they don’t get out of the house, their blood would be on the walls. They don’t know what to do, so they ignore it the first few times they get the letters. As school starts they decide to get the cops involved, while the kids are trying to figure out the mystery. They find hidden rooms in the house with scouts equipment. On the other hand the person who sold the house to them is acting weird and staying in front of their home. One day their kids go to the library and find some information that proves that the guy who sold them the house, Ned McGovern, was the person sending the notes. When they got home to warn their parents, they noticed someone was in the house with them. They chased him and Ned ended up getting them and setting the house on fire. They eventually got out while Ned died inside the house. The family ended up moving away after that.
I think the theme of this book is; you can never tell what secrets an average person holds. I think this because in the story, Ned is a normal guy who sold their house, who has a little bit of a temper. Little did they know that he was the one sending the letters because he wanted the house for himself, and needed the money first. “ ‘ It’s not that Ned Mcgovern is related to Teddy. He is Teddy.’ ” (Page 270) The scouts' stuff hidden in their house was that of the initials T M. They went to the library and looked at old scout photos and found Teddy McGovern. They realized that he had the same last name as Ned and both names were a nickname for Edward. Another example is when Ben, Janie’s older brother, got in trouble for beating someone up in his old town. Olivia was concerned, but she later found out that it was because someone made the girl he liked think he said something horrible at her. “There were only three of them, plus their cameraman, but they caused such a commotion, it felt like a full press conference. (Page 206) Mr. Donahue, the father of the new family, filed a lawsuit against Ned when they were getting the notes because he failed to mention the family that previously lived there also got letters. This caused the lawsuit to go public, and news reporters and many people showed up to try and interview them, which ended up going national. “ ‘And right next to him–that must be our T M. Teddy McGovern.’ “ (Page 287) The scouts’ stuff found in the hidden rooms had the initials T M on them. When they went to the library and found the picture from that year they saw Teddy McGovern. They realized that Teddy could also be Ned. This led to them figuring out that he had been staying in that house in hidden rooms while the other people lived there. He wanted to be a part of the house his whole life. He tried to buy it, but he couldn't afford it. So he sold the house to make money, then drove out the new owners so he could have it.
I thought this book was good. But there were some things in it that didn’t make sense. For instance; “ We said we would text, but I remembered what she’d said about her old friends and how pointless it seemed to hang on.” (Page 292) After Janie moved away, they didn’t continue talking. But for everything they went through together and the amount of time that they spent together it wouldn’t make any sense that they just stopped talking all together. Also some things were left unclear. Like how they didn’t mention if Ned did something to get the old family out of the house or not. The ending wasn’t too predictable, but I wasn’t too surprised by it. My favorite part of the book was probably when they found the secret room behind the bookcase. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it made me wonder why it was there. The hidden room behind the bookcase also reminded me of lots of those original thriller stories, and the hidden tunnels reminded me of Hotel Transylvania. Overall this book was decent, but I would recommend it to a slightly younger audience, as it is more of a tween written book.
I think the theme of this book is; you can never tell what secrets an average person holds. I think this because in the story, Ned is a normal guy who sold their house, who has a little bit of a temper. Little did they know that he was the one sending the letters because he wanted the house for himself, and needed the money first. “ ‘ It’s not that Ned Mcgovern is related to Teddy. He is Teddy.’ ” (Page 270) The scouts' stuff hidden in their house was that of the initials T M. They went to the library and looked at old scout photos and found Teddy McGovern. They realized that he had the same last name as Ned and both names were a nickname for Edward. Another example is when Ben, Janie’s older brother, got in trouble for beating someone up in his old town. Olivia was concerned, but she later found out that it was because someone made the girl he liked think he said something horrible at her. “There were only three of them, plus their cameraman, but they caused such a commotion, it felt like a full press conference. (Page 206) Mr. Donahue, the father of the new family, filed a lawsuit against Ned when they were getting the notes because he failed to mention the family that previously lived there also got letters. This caused the lawsuit to go public, and news reporters and many people showed up to try and interview them, which ended up going national. “ ‘And right next to him–that must be our T M. Teddy McGovern.’ “ (Page 287) The scouts’ stuff found in the hidden rooms had the initials T M on them. When they went to the library and found the picture from that year they saw Teddy McGovern. They realized that Teddy could also be Ned. This led to them figuring out that he had been staying in that house in hidden rooms while the other people lived there. He wanted to be a part of the house his whole life. He tried to buy it, but he couldn't afford it. So he sold the house to make money, then drove out the new owners so he could have it.
I thought this book was good. But there were some things in it that didn’t make sense. For instance; “ We said we would text, but I remembered what she’d said about her old friends and how pointless it seemed to hang on.” (Page 292) After Janie moved away, they didn’t continue talking. But for everything they went through together and the amount of time that they spent together it wouldn’t make any sense that they just stopped talking all together. Also some things were left unclear. Like how they didn’t mention if Ned did something to get the old family out of the house or not. The ending wasn’t too predictable, but I wasn’t too surprised by it. My favorite part of the book was probably when they found the secret room behind the bookcase. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it made me wonder why it was there. The hidden room behind the bookcase also reminded me of lots of those original thriller stories, and the hidden tunnels reminded me of Hotel Transylvania. Overall this book was decent, but I would recommend it to a slightly younger audience, as it is more of a tween written book.
November 23, 2019
Scholastic book fairs are so great—lots of shiny new books with intriguing titles you cant wait to read and even handcrafted book trailers to entice anyone to want to read—and so this selection that I bought with our school’s Scholastic dollars so those without money could check it out and hey I picked it up to read too LOL..So this story is not what I would think it would be about and it takes a while to build into a plot driven suspense novel…the book starts with Olivia Danvers and her life in a beautiful affluent suburban town with dark histories in two of their houses..In one an entire family was murdered in the 1980s and then there’s the 2nd one….16 Olcott Place-
“There is, after all, another house that put Glennon Heights on the map. Another place of nightmares. And now, after everything that’s happened, I get the same cold ball in my belly when I walk past it. The Donahue house. The Sentry’s house. What happened there stamped the air with fear and put a family to ruin as much as if they were sitting at their dining room table, eating supper as the bulldozers plowed through. (Pg. 3)
The book sets you up to know about this house and you go through Olivia’s life until a new family moves in and Olivia gets a new best friend in Janie who moves in with her parents and older twin brother and sister. Olivia and Janie spend all their time together as BFFs do and so she is there when their family receives the first chilling note from “The Sentry” laying his claim to the house and threatening to cover the walls with blood if they do not leave…
“I am the Sentry of Glennon Heights. Long ago I claimed 16 Olcott Place as levy for my guardianship. The walls will not tolerate your trespass. The ceilings will bleed and the windows will shatter. If you do not cease your intrusion the rooms will soon smell of corpses. (Pg. 45)
After getting a letter like that everyone is understandably on edge and so the children of the family take it upon themselves to take action….
“That’s right. She nodded again, but this was a nod of actual agreement. “We have a plan.”… ”If it’s just that some weirdo decided to write a letter, then we find him.” “Exactly,” Ben said. “We find the creep.” (Pg. 55)
So the trio of siblings that live in the haunted house and the recipients of the note along with Olivia decide to investigate and here is where the book loses it for me..It becomes less of a creepy suspenseful novel and more of a peer into the secrets of a not really interesting town..
The book goes on and on into the quirks of each resident and yawn it lost me a few times as the notes were just that and the suspect—boo.
Yeah I had high hopes for recommending this one but I really didn’t care for it honestly..I think so much more could have been done with this title, and the cover and even the beginning premise..sigh it took too long to finish because I was bored LOL..thank you next.
“There is, after all, another house that put Glennon Heights on the map. Another place of nightmares. And now, after everything that’s happened, I get the same cold ball in my belly when I walk past it. The Donahue house. The Sentry’s house. What happened there stamped the air with fear and put a family to ruin as much as if they were sitting at their dining room table, eating supper as the bulldozers plowed through. (Pg. 3)
The book sets you up to know about this house and you go through Olivia’s life until a new family moves in and Olivia gets a new best friend in Janie who moves in with her parents and older twin brother and sister. Olivia and Janie spend all their time together as BFFs do and so she is there when their family receives the first chilling note from “The Sentry” laying his claim to the house and threatening to cover the walls with blood if they do not leave…
“I am the Sentry of Glennon Heights. Long ago I claimed 16 Olcott Place as levy for my guardianship. The walls will not tolerate your trespass. The ceilings will bleed and the windows will shatter. If you do not cease your intrusion the rooms will soon smell of corpses. (Pg. 45)
After getting a letter like that everyone is understandably on edge and so the children of the family take it upon themselves to take action….
“That’s right. She nodded again, but this was a nod of actual agreement. “We have a plan.”… ”If it’s just that some weirdo decided to write a letter, then we find him.” “Exactly,” Ben said. “We find the creep.” (Pg. 55)
So the trio of siblings that live in the haunted house and the recipients of the note along with Olivia decide to investigate and here is where the book loses it for me..It becomes less of a creepy suspenseful novel and more of a peer into the secrets of a not really interesting town..
The book goes on and on into the quirks of each resident and yawn it lost me a few times as the notes were just that and the suspect—boo.
Yeah I had high hopes for recommending this one but I really didn’t care for it honestly..I think so much more could have been done with this title, and the cover and even the beginning premise..sigh it took too long to finish because I was bored LOL..thank you next.
October 17, 2023
This book could've been a lot better than it was. When I first started reading it, I noticed how slow it was, which is fine, but it just never picked up the pace from then on. I picked up this book hoping it would be a book with a lot of suspense, and that just didn't end up happening. Although the suspense that I wanted the whole book happened eventually, with 16 pages of the book left. The ending for this book also felt very rushed, the climax of the book was at the end, and the whole problem of the story just gets basically thrown out there without much thought. This book just made it feel like the main problem in this book, which is the letters that get written to the Donahue family (The main character's best friend's family) a side plot. The author spent too much time building relationships that didn't need to happen, like the relationship between Ben Donahue and Olivia Danvers (Olivia being the main character), Ben and Liv started spending a lot of time together, time that could've been used to set up the climax earlier. Although some of the time Liv spent with Ben wasn't useless, since you get background information on him and his sister Lucy. At the start of the book they make it a point that Janie Donahue (Olivia's best friend) is a great swimmer, and it just never gets brought up again, the rest of the book has no need for that fact except for a lifeguard starting to like her, but he's irrelevant to the story as well so it's just wasted writing. This book either needed to be rewritten in a better way with a better ending, or extended 100 pages so it doesn't seem so rushed at the end.
November 6, 2019
Just thinking about living in a house when you find out somebody has been watching you is one of the creepiest things to happen to anyone. That's why this story works. Imagine moving into a huge older house. Then, discovering that there are hidden rooms, secret passages, and finding an old sleeping bag, some candy wrappers, and other items that let you know someone has been staying there in the past. Then, you start receiving creepy letters hand delivered to your house by the stalker. I know, I would have a very hard time staying in the house any longer. Nope. NOPE.
That's what really works in this book. Just that thought.
But, at the end I still had a lot of unanswered questions. I'm fuzzy as to the stalker's motivation. Not to give any spoilers, so let me just say there has to be more to it than that?? What was the point in having the part about the man who murdered his family and left their bodies in the house. (Not THE house, btw.) Why was it necessary to make a big deal about how both sets of parents suspected spouses of having affairs? Did that add anything to the story? Not really.. Also, the bad boy background of the brother? I feel like I was missing something in the explanation.
I think the first part -- the creepiness of the stalker -- will really sell this book to readers. You'll forget about all the questions you're left with and just get chills thinking about someone watching you as you sleep. Going through all your stuff when you're gone. Being able to come and go without you knowing.
C rating. Optional.
That's what really works in this book. Just that thought.
But, at the end I still had a lot of unanswered questions. I'm fuzzy as to the stalker's motivation. Not to give any spoilers, so let me just say there has to be more to it than that?? What was the point in having the part about the man who murdered his family and left their bodies in the house. (Not THE house, btw.) Why was it necessary to make a big deal about how both sets of parents suspected spouses of having affairs? Did that add anything to the story? Not really.. Also, the bad boy background of the brother? I feel like I was missing something in the explanation.
I think the first part -- the creepiness of the stalker -- will really sell this book to readers. You'll forget about all the questions you're left with and just get chills thinking about someone watching you as you sleep. Going through all your stuff when you're gone. Being able to come and go without you knowing.
C rating. Optional.
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