Title: THE INVITED
Expected publication: 30 April 2019
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Book Description:
A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times
best-selling author of THE WINTER PEOPLE, returns to the woods of Vermont to
tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted
house, they start building one from scratch, without knowing it, until it's too
late...
In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home - wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks -- she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day.
In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home - wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks -- she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day.
My musings - ALERT - some mild spoilers included, read at own risk:
Spooky mysteries – love them? Hate them? Personally, a good
haunting is always a bonus for me, and I can rarely resist the temptation to
pick up a mystery that promises just that.
Professional couple Helen and Nate have decided to leave
their jobs and city home for a more quiet life in the country. After looking
for the perfect house and coming up empty, they settle for a few acres near a
small Vermont town to build their own dream home. Helen, whose job of teaching
history has given her appreciation for local legends, is overjoyed to learn
that their land had been home to a local woman, Hattie Breckenridge, who was
hanged as a witch at the turn of the century. Intrigued, she tries to find out
more about her. But when does interest become obsession? Soon Helen is relentless
in her quest, and even starts collecting items that once belonged to the family
to include in her own home to honour Hattie’s memory. When things start to go
bump in the night she is beginning to wonder – is Hattie trying to reach out
from the grave to communicate with her?
My favourite part of the book was its atmospheric setting in
the marshland surrounding Nate and Helen’s property, which once housed the
infamous Hattie’s cottage. When a ghostly white doe starts making an
appearance, I thought – yes, this is heading in the right direction of
spookiness for me! However, people less fond of eerie vibes that make you keep
your lights on at night will be pleased that this did not turn out to be a
scary book after all. Yes, there are a few ghostly appearances, and some
unexplained events, but I was not overly spooked. Sadly. So if you are looking
for horror or some serious scare factor ratings, then this may not be the right
book for you. Instead, McMahon has delivered a light, character driven mystery
with some ghostly elements that connect the present with another mystery from
the past.
My take on it: THE INVITED was a pleasant and easy read, but
it desperately lacked the menace, suspense and spookiness that I had hoped to
find here. At times, I felt that the author was trying too hard to make her
paranormal elements work, and the hauntings by the mysterious Hattie fell
totally flat for me. I much prefer a tense atmosphere and mysterious,
unexplained events to dubious “sightings” of a ghost. Why Hattie’s ghost should
choose Helen as her medium rather than some of the other characters that were
more convincible contenders also remained a mystery to me. And where were the
subtle hints of menace and danger to our protagonists? I felt that the setting
had so much more to offer, but it never really eventuated for me. As for the
modern day mystery, I had the villain worked out as soon as they entered the
stage, even though my Sherlock armchair detective skills are usually only a
4-5/10 at the best of times. Hattie, who had true potential to be intriguing
and complex, and who initially drew me into the story, never made a repeat
appearance, which was disappointing.
Summary:
All in all, THE INVITED will appeal to readers who appreciate a lighter mystery with some paranormal elements that won’t give them nightmares, focusing more on family secrets and a connection to a historical figure that all overlap nicely with present day events. If you are looking to be scared out of your mind, then this probably isn’t the book to do it. I enjoyed THE INVITED as a quick entertaining read but it did not live up to the promise of a spooky thriller for me.
Thank
you to Edelweiss and Doubleday for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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