A review by lefthandlou
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

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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