RIP IX: This House is Haunted

I only have a couple of days left of RIP season and quite a few reviews to catch up on so this week's posts will be short and sweet (well, as sweet as murder and mayhem can get)!

As someone who has read many Victorian ghost stories (good and bad), I found This House is Haunted by John Boyne to also be a strong classic ghost story, despite being published only last year. A young woman, Eliza Caine, caught up in the grief of a sudden loss, seeks to change her situation by leaving everything she knows, heading to Norfolk, and becoming governess to some children. From the start, things are not as they seem and eventually Eliza sets out to find out the true history of the house and the family. What she finds is not pleasant but her own good nature and family ties help her in the end.

I wouldn't say that I loved this book because there was nothing that was exceptional about it ... but, it was still a pleasure to read. It was a good, solid ghost story. This book reminded me of the books of John Harwood, without the more sordid parts. I have no complaints other than the fact that Eliza seemed pretty slow to catch onto things at first. Thankfully, she stepped up her game by the end and even became a bit crafty. Good job, Eliza!

Hoping this post is not haunted,
K