For fans of The Haunting of Hill House comes a dark tale of a mansion haunted by a legacy of tragedy and a family trapped by lies.
Margot and Myron Spielman move to a new town, looking for a fresh start and an escape from the long shadow of their past. But soon after they buy Rawlingswood, a foreclosed mansion rumored to be haunted, they realize they’re in for more of the same…or worse.
After a … same…or worse.
After a renovation fraught with injuries and setbacks, the Spielmans move in to the century-old house, and their problems quickly escalate. The home’s beautiful facade begins to crumble around them when their teenage son uncovers disturbing details of Rawlingswood’s history—a history of murder, betrayal, and financial ruin. The Spielmans’ own shameful secrets and lies become harder to hide as someone or something inside the house watches their every move.
As tensions build between the family members, the home’s dark history threatens to repeat itself. Margot and Myron must confront their own ghosts and Rawlingswood’s buried past before the house becomes their undoing.
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I read this book while on holiday last month and meant to write a review as soon as I’d finished it. That kind of didn’t happen, so now the book isn’t quite as fresh in my mind as it was. However, I did really enjoy this book and can remember the overall plot.
No One’s Home is about a family who buys a large house that has been empty for some time. Because of rumours circulating around town that many people have died in suspicious circumstances, locals have trashed the house. It’s covered in graffiti and been used as a squat.
However, there are also terrifying etchings on the wall, an attic light that never turns off, and other bumps in the night. Soon the family finds themselves haunted by ghosts and the past.
DM Pulley also weaves the tales of several other families into the narrative. This goes all the way back to the 1800s when the house was built, drip-feeding a little more of the plot with each chapter.
I won’t say what happens, but I will say that there were some surprises and some spooky moments. But in the end, each character has a satisfying conclusion to their thread. This is a book that you will race through because it’s so entertaining.
One house, multiple families each with their own secrets. Is the house haunted, or are the families haunted by their own past? In this story that spans decades, the author masterfully weaves the past with the present. Normally I don’t like stories that bounce around the timeline, but this one is so well written that I enjoyed every second. A great mystery that kept me guessing until the end. D.M. Pulley is definitely one of my new favorite authors, would recommend this to anyone who loves mysteries.
No One’s Home is a modern Gothic haunted house story. Myron and Margot buy a mansion in a new town and proceed to renovate it. Of course, this is a horror story, so the renovations and the events that follow don’t go well.
PROS:
Pulley writes excellent suspense scenes, a real page-turner. (I think I shall always be afraid of attics now.)
Both Myron and Margot have secrets. Their teenage son, because he is the kid in the family, has little voice in the whole move, in his schooling, in his life. As he puts it, his parents tote him about “like luggage.” The complex dynamics of the parents’ relationships, their secrets, teen angst, and the hauntings (yes, plural) make a delightful, multilayered story.
One of the themes in the book is an examination of wealthy privilege and how society tends to think those who have their act together financially and socially are truly happier. But, as summed up by Ninny the Shaker, “You can’t really tell much of anything looking in from the outside.” Pulley handles this theme well.
CONS:
The story is told from the omniscient point of view, which isn’t my favorite. It’s okay when the narration is removed (like a camera from a distance), but I felt jerked about from one character’s head to anther’s when the narration was too up-close. I took off half a star for this.
The ending wrapped up awfully conveniently. I took off half a star for this, but other readers may like neatly packaged endings.
OVERALL:
Superb haunted house story. Even if you’ve read a gazillion of them, read this one, too. 4 spooky stars!
Fall is here and the perfect time to grab this book, a blanket and find a cozy spot. Most haunted house books are lame….never living up to the chills of Shirley Jackson’s book “the haunting of hill house.” This book of DM Pulley, DELIVERS the scares, drama, secrets, bitterness and history of a haunted house.
The Rawlingswood Manor was built by a couple with a young son hoping for the best in life. The house is owned again and again by people seeking a good life… decades go by and the vacant home is now referred to as the murder house.
You meet the latest couple and their son, Hunter, trying to start over and cleaning away the mess and debris left behind by others.
The author takes you to the home through its different owners and children. A big fancy house lends itself to owner’s overspending and partying ways. People go into debt, hiding secrets from their own families and depending on the time period, some barely survive the big depression or the last one.
The one constant is the children suffer and families fall apart along with the urban myth that bad things took place on the land.
Shaker Heights was home to the Shakers and civil unrest and more that took place where this house stands….the house has seen alot.
Hunter, Benny, Walter, Ava… we see the house through the eyes of the children. Writing on the walls can be interpreted as done by evil spirits…..or by desperate kids.
Hunter, as an older teen, tries to find information on the house to help him see if he should stay or run.
This is a mystery with spirits, ghosts, the undead or perhaps the living scaring the new family. There are beautiful characters and their plights stay with you. The behavior of the adults you can only blame on themselves.
The past is affecting the living, or is it? You will read this book through and meet the families and care for each one. Haunting yet inspirational in the ending….the writing left behind made me smile and hope for the best.
I read this book a week ago and I still think about Benny and Walter and the clues left behind if people would just take the time to really see them. A gun, blood stains, the eras of boorlegging, the big depression, greed, drugs and secrets all contribute to this grand mystery….is it the house or the dead or the people inside the house?
This book holds up to scrutiny and the timelines and history of the land itself add details, drama and questions.
A door creaks open. A footstep thumps on an empty floor above. A light turns on in a room left dark. In every silent room and black corner of No One’s Home, D. M. Pulley weaves threads of hypnotic suspense with the sad strands of a family lost to one another. With an elegantly restrained hand that stops mercifully shy of showcasing the unbearable, Pulley has created a contemporary intelligent thriller that can stand with the canon of the legendary Shirley Jackson.
HGTV meets Stephen King — creepy, spooky fun!
Disturbing and creepy. D.M. Pulley does a masterful job of introducing the reader to families who, at different points in time, are forced to experience life in the same menacing house. Reminds me of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and I loved every second of it!
A house of secrets, mysteries, tragedies, and dread. Taut and suspenseful, I couldn’t put this down! Awesome.
In this book we see how a house can tell our stories and keep our secrets.
This is a great spooky October read… 4/5 stars
#nooneshome #dmpulley #books #reading #spooky
Margot and Myron Spielman move to a new town, looking for a fresh start and an escape from the long shadow of their past. But soon after they buy Rawlingswood, a foreclosed mansion rumored to be haunted, they realize they’re in for more of the same…or worse.
After a renovation fraught with injuries and setbacks, the Spielmans move in to the century-old house, and their problems quickly escalate. The home’s beautiful facade begins to crumble around them when their teenage son uncovers disturbing details of Rawlingswood’s history—a history of murder, betrayal, and financial ruin. The Spielmans’ own shameful secrets and lies become harder to hide as someone or something inside the house watches their every move.
As tensions build between the family members, the home’s dark history threatens to repeat itself. Margot and Myron must confront their own ghosts and Rawlingswood’s buried past before the house becomes their undoing.
A unique haunted house story!
This book was a unique haunted house/ ghost story read but in the best way possible. It jumps from multiple timelines and multiple families, so you get to see how all these different families lived in the same house. It is fascinating and disturbing at times because you see how the world has change and how it has affected people through the years, and it has left an imprint on this house through those times. This is definitely a haunted house with some kind of ghosts throughout that are haunting this place but its more like poltergeist activity that actual ghost appearing. The house has seen alot of life and heartache through the years and it has left a stain on it good and bad, some of that has not left and you will not find out until the end what that is. This was a really wonderful story to read, I found it interesting and lovely at times, but also scary and nerve-wracking at others. It has something for everyone if you like ghost sories or haunted houses.
DM Pulley is a consistently solid story-teller. I read her first novel, The Dead Key, several years ago, and I remember being so impressed by the easy way she creates a world that you not only understand, but feel you are a part of. No One’s Home is no different. From the beginning, I was haunted by the house, intrigued by the lives that had been lived there, and dying to know more about what was going to happen. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! Atmospheric and absolutely terrifying, this is a story for thriller, historical fiction, and horror fans alike!
This is a good book with goodcstory hope everyone will love it yea lets see
Almost as good as the Dead Key. Lots of characters.
Let’s start with the actual plot, of which there were actually many. This novel takes multiple families and perspectives to give you a full picture of this house. It almost makes it feels as if the home itself is the main character and all of the intriguing people that have dwelled in it’s walls, are merely a part of it’s life. It was fascinating and so original for a “haunted house” story. Although, that isn’t really the entire focus of this, it was very creepy and strange, while also being extremely realistic and heartfelt. I was really nicely surprised by this. I will say, it is a somewhat brutal read. It contains, infidelity, molestation, murder, suicidal thoughts, drug abuse and much more that are really amoungst the darker sides of human interaction. So I’d say for someone who is easily upset by these things, it isn’t a recommendation. It isn’t extreme but it is apparent. Overall, it was well a well written story of hope and happiness, while also maintaining so many dark themes and how sometimes certain situations you find yourself in in life can really change someone’s perspectives and cause detrimental complications in one’s life and mental well being. It was a fast paced story and really has a lot within it’s pages for fans of this type of genre to devour and enjoy.
I am a huge fan of D.M. Pulley and this book is arguably the best.
The home on Lee Rd. in Shaker Heights, Ohio was built by the Rollingsworths in the 1920s. It stands a magnificent shell of the original residence when Margot and Myron Spielman decide to buy it in 2018. The house is in shambles from disrepair, theft and neglect. After restoring part of the three-story estate, the Spielman’s and their son, Hunter, make it their new home. Secrets buried and the glimpses of unusual sightings make them question the wisdom of their purchase. More of their lives intertwine with those that came before, leaving everyone fighting with unseen demons.
The tension in this book will keep you on edge. Even when you are not reading, the puzzles and ideas planted throughout the story are being mulled. Each of the characters have strength and weaknesses. Some are irredeemable but most have good and bad qualities. The writing is suspenseful, intriguing and thrilling. Just as you think you have things figured out; something will happen to leave you questioning everything you know.
D. M. Pulley writes mysteries and thrillers like many other authors. However, the emotions that this book and her prior mysteries evoke are so superb that she must be considered one of the best. She has, once again, written one of my favorite books of the year.
I received an ARC from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. That in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.
5 out of 5
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I first found D.M. Pulley back in 2014 when I found The Dead Key on Amazon as a Amazon Unlimited offer and I was immediately impressed. The Dead Key was in my top five books of that year as it was such a different type of book. When I saw that this book was up for an advanced read I know I had to read it and I am so glad that I did! If you are looking for a good, haunted house book just in time for spooky season (which for me starts in the middle of August because I am that obsessed with Autumn and Halloween!) Then this book is for you! If I had the time to binge this book in one day I would have. As it is I did finish it in two!
There is something about Rawlingswood Manor that captivates potential buyers so much they feel that they must have it. Built in Shaker Heights in 1922 for the Rawlings family who became the first victims of the mansion. From there every family that has lived in the house has been doomed. Long held secrets come out,hidden resentments drive families apart and not every comes out of it alive. You see, Rawlingswood was built on sacred ground, a terrible miscarriage of justice took place there and the long forgotten victims are watching and waiting.
Into all of this comes the Spielman family, desperate for a fresh start Myron is sure that this will solve all of their issues. It will help Margot to finally be happy again. Their son Hunter will be happy and they will be a whole family again. Margot is not so sure. She doesn’t want leave Boston and she resents her husband for forcing this to happen. She also does’t like the idea of moving into a “Murder House” as the graffiti on the walls warned. She finally agrees as long as she can renovate the home. Renovations of course do not go smoothly as there are injuries and strange happenings to the point that many workers leave and never return.
Shortly after the family arrive things begin to happen. Things are being moved, food disappears and there seems to be a presence. They all seem to catch a glimpse of a blonde girl in white. There is also a strange feeling that they are being watched. As fifteen year old Hunter’s parents begin to slowly fall apart he begins to look into the house’s dark history.
The narrative jumps back and forth in time to the various families that have lived there and what became of them. I didn’t find it to be confusing at all though because before each chapter we are informed of the year and the family that we are visiting at the moment.
Not all the characters are likable and I must stress that I really hated Myron Spielman so much! Benny and Hunter were fantastic characters and the story was so well written. I don’t get scared easily this book really had an effect on me. I was pretty spooked the whole time I read this.
If you like The Haunting of Hill House then you will like this. I found myself openly crying during a few parts and I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it last night.