Home is where the heart is… or the hatred.When you cross the threshold of the home you either feel the warmth of the love that’s gone into making a home or the coldness of how little love there is present. Alex didn’t care for whatever feelings went into the Jackson Manor, he just wanted to be able to explore it.After years of being locked up, he and his team of paranormal investigators finally … paranormal investigators finally have a chance to prove the Manor is nothing more than an empty spooky underground mansion with a sordid history, and Alex’s dream is about to come true.
The house, and its restless occupants, has other plans.
“I have been devouring my collection of Claven’s books and this one was next on the list. The cover, as usual with her books, is stunning and scary. I couldn’t wait to dive into the story.” – Reader Review
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This review primarily covers the audiobook version.
This book starts up with the author talking it up something fierce. Two thoughts crossed my mind. Either this is going to be the best damn horror book I’ve listened to in a while. Or I’m going to have a field day tearing it apart.
As much as I love to shit all over things people hold dear; Bravo. This story is something else. It really did live up to the hype. It’s one of the best short stories/horror stories I’ve listened to/read.
The characters use words like “smelt it” (smelled it) and torch (flashlight). This led to much confusion on my part. The inconsistency of the narrator confused the hell out of me. The narrator would occasionally do a European accent. If he can do a European accent, then why doesn’t he narrate the book in that accent. If he can’t, then why wasn’t a European narrator chosen?
Adding to my annoyance with the narrator, he says “19o2”. O isn’t a number. It’s 1902. Adding to my overall annoyance, the audiobook is plagued with this obnoxious background music.
Maybe it’s time I get to that praise I hinted at, at the start of this review. This story is twisty, twisted, and exciting. It continually keeps you engrossed with stories and history of the mansion and the family that owns it, followed by the predicament the characters are in after an untimely cave-in.
There were a couple of character names “Andrew Jackson” and Michael Jackson” which I found amusing. I don’t know if those were intentional or just a coincidence, but my personal stance is; If it’s amusing, it’s canon.
The story made me wonder. Some of the best stories I’ve listened to since I started reviewing have been short stories. 3 of them have been horror. Tempting Fate, Santa of the Dead, and this one. Are they good because they don’t stick around long enough to lose their thunder or is it something else. I really can’t praise this story enough. It’s brilliant.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
I enjoyed this creepy, crazy thriller so much, I listened to it two times! “Once you enter, (this mansion) you can never leave.” Meet the Jackson family and their mansion. Cursed? Ghosts? Haunted? A film crew enters to document, debunk the haunted house theory. Do any make it out alive???
I loved the narrator. He tells this story with just the right amount of expression. He reads it rapidly, but very distinctly. Well done.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Story Origin.
This book is a real horror book. It a story about the Jackson Mansion which is built entirely underground and has a reputation for being haunted. The Jackson family history is filled with various members known for killing people. Alex and his paranormal group visit the mansion to film for their show which debunks ghosts and anything “haunted”. Before they stepped into this mansion, they had never seen a ghost and were always able to prove places weren’t haunted. That all changed with the Jackson Mansion.
This was a creepy, dark, and twisted horror story. I enjoyed the stories Alex told about the “family history” and some of the worse killers in that family. Talk about a sadistic and twisted family.
Although I found most of the crew with Alex and even Alex himself to be a little stupid in their choices, it made for entertaining reading. Really, how many times do you have to see or hear something before you accept it could be haunted?
If you like a good horror story that is really dark and twisted, give this one a try.
Twisted Family Tradition!
The Jackson Family of horrors!
Okay, I didn’t read the blurb or anything. Picked this one up on a friend’s recommendation alone. I am pleased to say this book was filled to the brim with small stories within the Jackson family, each more depraved than the next. Just when you think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, you’re blindsided with another dark secret flooding you in complete darkness! I gobbled this up. A suspenseful, gritty tale of family tradition. A eerie mansion. And horror filled tales that keep you on the edge of your seat!
I have been devouring my collection of Claven’s books and this one was next on the list. The cover, as usual with her books, is stunning and scary. I couldn’t wait to dive into the story.
The first chapter demonstrated writing that was fabulously clear and on point, as well as set up a plot that drew me right into the thick of things, or should I say “underground.”
As the story moved along, things got creepier and darker, until I felt the breathless fear of being in a nightmare where you just can’t move fast enough to get away. The events definitely had my adrenaline pumping away.
The ending chapters presented a twist I hadn’t seen coming and had me racing to get to the conclusion. The final scene was shocking perfection and went right along with the terror that was Buried. Brilliantly done!