Things are not going well for Mark Currier. Six years ago his three year old son died tragically, neither he or his wife, Alice have dealt well with the loss. Now, Alice is filing for divorce and living with her mentally unstable brother in his house. On top of that, Mark learns that the hotel where his father worked, he has grown up in and worked in his entire life is being sold off and demolished. Jobless and homeless, Mark decides to stay and Longreave and fix up its crumbling walls. Obsessed, Mark patches up Longreave brick by brick. But as the electricity gets shut off and the water shut off, he notices strange shadows that move when they shouldn't and water that drips even though there's not any water there. Things don't seem to stay dead in Longreave, Mark doesn't seem to mind most of the things that come back, his job as caretaker is reinstated and his life has purpose again. However, one thing in Longreave does scare Mark and sometimes the things that have died need to stay dead.
At first I thought this was going to be an interesting story of a haunted hotel. While I would definitely classify it as horror, there is a good mix of psychological thriller, mystery and family drama that also lends some heartfelt and tender moments. I was very impressed with the character development throughout, from living to dead; I even had a good feel for Mooney the dog's personality. Mark's character intrigued me the most, as everything in his life crumbled around him, he felt the need to rebuild. I also had a very hard time figuring out just what was happening with Mark, was it all in his head? Was it the hotel itself? This is where the excellent writing comes in, there is a very slow build to the horror, done tactfully and in a way that left me guessing if the dead were in Mark's head or the hotel. I especially loved Mark's new found relationship with his son, Tommy and his dog, Mooney. These scenes, while having fear lingering in the background of Longreave were mostly sweet. Sneaking slowly, the danger unravels and the mystery grows as Mark and Alice try to rebuild. I have to stay, the mystery had me guessing until the very end and while I wasn't quite sure what was happening every step of the way, I definitely enjoyed the ride.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
At first I thought this was going to be an interesting story of a haunted hotel. While I would definitely classify it as horror, there is a good mix of psychological thriller, mystery and family drama that also lends some heartfelt and tender moments. I was very impressed with the character development throughout, from living to dead; I even had a good feel for Mooney the dog's personality. Mark's character intrigued me the most, as everything in his life crumbled around him, he felt the need to rebuild. I also had a very hard time figuring out just what was happening with Mark, was it all in his head? Was it the hotel itself? This is where the excellent writing comes in, there is a very slow build to the horror, done tactfully and in a way that left me guessing if the dead were in Mark's head or the hotel. I especially loved Mark's new found relationship with his son, Tommy and his dog, Mooney. These scenes, while having fear lingering in the background of Longreave were mostly sweet. Sneaking slowly, the danger unravels and the mystery grows as Mark and Alice try to rebuild. I have to stay, the mystery had me guessing until the very end and while I wasn't quite sure what was happening every step of the way, I definitely enjoyed the ride.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
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