The Spite House by Johnny Compton

​Of all the reasons to build a house, spite probably isn’t the best of them. The house might come out…angry, hungry, flat-out mean.
But there is such a house in this book. A lean thing built on a hill by a man scorned. A house that terrifies its current owner who, looking to undo some generational damage, is looking for proof of the house’s nightmarish nature.
Enter Eric Ross and his two daughters. Eric is a man on the lam, desperate enough to take a job no matter the dangers if the pay if right. And so, he gets to stay at the place and tango with the nightmares of it.
This was an interesting and original take on a haunted house genre. So kudos for that. The eponymous place was brought to life nicely - creepily and vividly. The writing was strong throughout, including the character writing. Even the kids.
The things that didn’t quite work were minor. Some of it might just be debut novel jitters. The plot eventually got busy in a dizzying way, overcomplicating the story. The author tried to put so much in under 300 pages that he had to resort to exhaustive span of perspectives that shifted constantly. It got especially convoluted toward the end with explanations of the house’s evil nature. Also, some of the pacing dragged in some places.
But overall, it was solid enough of a read and showed a lot of potential, so I’m going to round up my rating. Plus, what a great cover. Thanks Netgalley.