Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Die Geheimnisse von Hill House: Roman by Elizabeth Hand

6 reviews

lefthandlou's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Pages and pages dedicated to a stained table cloth and creepy bunnies? A tiny door? A magazine? The first 80% of the book had nothing actually scary, horrifying, or even a little creepy. And so much was left unresolved. Not in a mysterious way, but in a “the author forgot about this plot point” kind of way. 

Deeply irritating, self-absorbed, and boring characters with extensive back stories that do nothing to make them feel more real or likable. Their backstories are also awkwardly shoe-horned into the rest of the story. 

The constant inner monologues from the characters were an attempt at building suspense but were just irritating. 

This felt less like an homage to Jackson’s work and more like a mish mash of everything that has ever tried to capitalize on the genius of The Haunting of Hill House. 

There were some creepy moments in the last bit of the book, but not enough to redeem the lack of cohesion in the plot, the detestable characters, the abrupt ending, and the many forgotten threads. 

I’m disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this but it’s a failure for me, both as a riff on Jackson’s work and as its own story

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

themelaniewaite's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The day I sat down to read this, I read through 70 pages. It’s so easy to get into, and while it felt like a slow start getting to know characters - the eerie factor of the story begins very early on. The atmosphere, the loss (and gain?) of time, the black hare that seems to be following the main character Holly.  

Throughout the story there are so many brilliant callbacks and subtle nods to the original novel woven within, it feels like you’re in on the secrets of the house in how it comes back to life again. It is absolutely clear that the author is a fan of the original novel. 

I read this so fast, I could not put this book down. While some of it felt a little slow, and the storytelling shifted through memories of how the characters were connected, to even switching between first (Holly’s perspective) person to third person (for the others’ scenes/perspectives), it all helped in the overall tone of the story. It all paid off with the climactic few chapters, really bringing the house to life and tying into the original story with a warning of what might happen if anyone else dared to underestimate Hill House. 

The moment I found out about this book, I had to have it and I am so, so glad I gave it a chance. It mirrors that eerie, impending horror that has been building under the surface that the original had, the execution and pay-off were totally worth it, and I have been recommending this book to anyone that enjoyed the original story or enjoy a haunted house plot. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book, eager to get back and read more; even now, after finishing it I can’t stop thinking about it. The hares, the shadows, the voices - that ending! It has definitely left an imprint on me like Shirley Jackson’s original novel, and I think that really says something about the love and dedication that went into creating this story. 

A sequel or continuation is never as good as the original - we know this for many examples - but this is a strong follow-up to the Hill House universe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

The characters are pretty complex and have reasonably traumatic background - including grooming, accidental death, suicide of a friend.

snickies's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very creepy, but I greatly disliked all the main characters. Undecided if I liked this or not.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Murder

ash_bees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was more frustrating than scary.  And I say this as a person who doesn't like scary stories.

The climatic scene was essentially a scene from "A Bug's Life":

"Don't go into the light."
"But it's so pretty."
*zap*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

obsetress's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chezler24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It's a tough act to follow up on such an iconic tale as Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House, but I think that Elizabeth Hand did a pretty great job. The story feels unique to itself while having the foreboding Hill House looming in the background. Hand captures the dread and foreboding elements Jackson produced yet plays to her own strengths in creating a new, modern chapter in the house's history. Holly, Nisa, Stevie, and Amanda have all made their way to this place to work on Holly's play as actors, sound designers, and singers. Against all warnings, they decide to stay here for a month to have the creepy essence of the house serve as a backdrop for workshopping their supernatural-themed play.  Hill House feeds on the anxieties and doubts of its guests as they slowly realize the house is more aware of their presence than they could ever have imagined. 

The only aspect that seemed strange to me was that of the hares running around and more "witchy" aspects. It ended up working out in the end but I suppose we did have some magic/seance action in the original novel so, in hindsight, I shouldn't have been that surprised by these supernatural elements. 

Please listen to Fern Maddie's "Hares on the Mountain"! Songs/singing are a key part of the plot and ambiance and the author noted that this version has the same essence as the character Nisa put into it. I listened to it after I finished the book and it felt very nice as an "end credits" song in a sense.   

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug use, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic