I was so disappointed by this because the premise is really interesting. Vera, now a grown woman, goes back to her childhood home because her (abusive) mother is dying. Her father - whom she loved and had a close relationship with - was a serial killer who killed men in their house. And Vera is torn between her love for her father, the fact that he is a murderer; and also maybe love for her mother, even though she is abusive. And she has to come to terms with her own history and connection to this family. And at night, there are weird things still happening in this house...
So why was I disappointed? Just from the setting, this should have been very character-focused. And that sometimes worked out, but overall I just could not connect to any of the characters. I didnt understand their actions, and was rather annoyed.
There were chapters about Veras childhood which I thought were the best of the book. But the chapters set in the present were either filler or supernatural??-thing-lives-in-this-house chapters.
And I hated the end.
I dont like books that have a supernatural storyline that isnt clear from the beginning. If it starts out with a character driven, realistic story; but then the twist is "it is a ghost, actually!", this can feel like an easy way out. Especially when we then see the monster. Here, the "soul of the house" materializes and talks to Vera. And it is dripping with rot and ugly, and wears the skin of Veras mother. And I guess this should have been creepy but I was just giggling (in an annoyed way). The complex relationship between Vera and her father wasnt that important anymore because there is now a very real monster that holds a nice conversation with her. Uhm. Not for me, thanks!
