Nice place ... But is it haunted? Now, there’s the question, the notion that’s been beaten to death, revived, and beaten to death all over again in genre fiction. It’s a cliché that can be measured in square feet. And it comes with its own real estate listing. A couple buys a place, idyllic on the outside, nightmarish on the inside. Soon, strange things begin to occur. Who’re you gonna call? Yes, this book even has a ghostbuster, of a sort. The main plot revolves around all those tried-and-true clichés but it is objectively a pretty decent take on them. I’ve been reading Coppel for a while now, not so much because he’s the best thing out there, but because he’s so reliable. Mediocre but reliably so, you always get exactly what you expect with him, pretty much. This book is no exception. In fact, it’s better than most of his work. So much so, I'm going to round up my rating. While not literary per se, his writing is very nicely paced, realistic with details, and humorous in banter. The plot is basic enough to explain: a family moves from West to East coast, gets a picturesque property in Northern Virginia, commuting distance to DC, and starts nesting. Only their next keeps getting weirder and weirder. You think you want extra square footage? Sure, yeah, but you wouldn’t want a self-expanding place to live it, that’s just creepy. So what pushes people out? What’s enough and what’s too much? Would a metal bed with restraints in the attic do the trick? No? Well, how about an antique chamber pot, poop and all? Fireless smoke? Okay, okay, here’s a doozy … what about an unshakable certainty that you and your family are not alone? Read on and find out what the family in the book does. It’s a fun, quick read. Recommended for genre fans. I'm surprised the title made it through the PC police. It's apparently offensive, more in some forms than others. One day, it may have to be redone as Madness. Until "madness" gets done away with, too. And then what, one wonders?
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December 2023
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