Tag: Old houses

What’s Ashley Reading?: We Used To Live Here

We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

First line: Description: Real estate listing for 3709 Heritage Lane-transcribed from the no longer operational www.seeking-home.net

Summary: Eve and Charlie cannot believe their luck when they purchase a large older home in the woods for a bargain. Everything is going smoothly as they start settling in until one day when a man with his family arrives on the porch telling Eve that the he used to live there. Rather than tell the family no, Eve invites them in to allow the man to show his family his childhood home. However, the short tour sets off a series of events that leave Eve questioning her every thought and memory.

My Thoughts: This book was recommended to me by someone who knows loves a spine-tingling story and it did not disappoint. From the very beginning, before much even happens, there is the feeling of something ominous in the lurking. Every interaction is more and more tense. This book proves that you don’t need gore or monsters to create horror.

In alternating chapters there are snippets of evidence from an investigation by an unknown character. It appears they are looking into strange happenings that may all be linked together. Each of these gives you a deeper sense of the strangeness that is taking over the house and the occupants.

As the main character, Eve continues to stay in the house things become stranger and stranger until everything comes crashing down. At the end of this book you may start to question if you understood what happened. I remember putting it down and just thinking for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and try to put everything into place. But even now and after talking about this book with others, I still don’t know if or when things happened. Be prepared to be confused but completely taken in by this story.

I cannot wait to see what the author writes next!

FYI: Violence, language and scary scenes.

Book Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

First line: The magpies are back.

Summary: When Harriet Westaway receives a letter from a lawyer she is confused by its contents. It is informing her that her grandmother has died and that her presence is needed at the reading of the will. Harriet has never met her grandmother. She never even knew she had one. Maybe they got the wrong person. Nevertheless, with a loan shark hounding her for money and bills piling up she decides to see what is behind this letter. Upon arriving at Trepassen she meets the rest of her “family”. Can she deceive these people and take their money? On the other hand, is there more here than she thought?

Highlights: This is by far Ruth Ware’s best novel. It took me a while to read but not from lack of interest. I liked Harriet. She is a young girl in an impossible situation. She does the best she can to take care of herself in an uncertain world. I really enjoyed the diary entries that give the reader a peak into the past and snippets of facts pertaining to the mystery. I kept coming up with new scenarios and answers. Ware did a great job setting up each little twist and turn. In addition, I was truly a little frightened by Mrs. Warren. She was always there with some dark comment or ominous look.

I didn’t mean you—I just meant—well, look, Mrs. Warren’s always had a touch of the Mrs. Danvers about her.

Lowlights: The loan sharks were the driving force to get the story started but then the threat disappeared as the plot progressed. I understand that they were just a starting point for why Hal decided to impersonate the Westaway heir but if it was a big part of the beginning maybe it should make an appearance at the end?

FYI: Ruth Ware is also the author of The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Lying Game.