Synopsis
A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets.
Harry Adams loves horror movies, so it’s no coincidence that she accepted a job cleaning house for horror-movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding gray-stone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes as well as glittering awards from his career making movies that thrilled audiences—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.
Javier values discretion, and Harry always tries to keep the house immaculate, her head down, and her job safe. Then she hears noises from behind a locked door, noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help. Harry knows not asking questions is a vital part of keeping her job, but she soon discovers that the house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.
Review
A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!
Haunted houses and the Gothic have long worked hand in hand to provide many unique, isolated settings in which darkness thrives. But what goes into making a house so haunted? This seems to be the question asked by Christina Henry, one that her novel, The House That Horror Built, seems to partially answer. Single mother Harry Adams takes a rather unconventional job to make ends meet following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. She adores her teen son Gabe, a boy who enjoys the same horror movies and franchises as his mother. Harry’s job should be perfect given her love of horror as she is hired to clean the home of Javier Castillo, a renowned horror movie director. Yet, she can’t shake the odd feeling in Javier’s large home that is filled with replicas, models, and costumes of movies past. Could it simply be Mr. Castillo’s questionable past or is something even more sinister lurking within the walls of his Chicago mansion?
Harry and Gabe’s connection with Javier, and subsequently his home, comes with many interesting dynamics. First and foremost, Christina Henry devotes much of this story to demonstrating the vast differences and inequalities between the poor and the wealthy. Harry is a mother who would do anything to provide for her son resulting in her taking a job that isn’t exactly ideal. Javier is terse, seemingly cold, and simply odd. Spending her days cleaning his home may allow her to hang around cool props and memorabilia, but Javier’s strict, unusual rules make for a tense work environment on top of the otherworldly eeriness of all those costumes. The sociological and economic gaps between Javier and Harry are exemplified time and time again, adding to this already alienated feeling that exists within Javier’s home.
So, how did Javier end up a reclusive, wealthy, morally ambiguous old man? The House That Horror Built utilizes split timelines to demonstrate both Harry and Javier’s past while events of the present unfold. While this works very well to develop these characters further, I couldn’t help but feel as though Harry, Javier, and Gabe felt slightly underdeveloped. At times, Harry felt like a caricature of the over-protective mom who struggled to see fault in her son’s ways going to extreme lengths to provide a better life for him. The same can be said of Javier who is ultimately defined by his love of movies and desire to create in conjunction with his mysterious, terse manner. Despite how much time we spend with these characters, I couldn’t help but want a little more, especially towards the end of the novel.
Speaking of the novel’s conclusion, the events that transpire happen suddenly and at break-neck speed despite the slow-burn tone established for the majority of the story. These pacing issues were made very evident when I reached the last page thinking, “There’s gotta be more, right?” Make no mistake, something feels amiss within the walls of Javier’s home from the start of the novel, but traction doesn’t gain until nearly 90% of its completion. Again here, I simply wanted more.
The House That Horror Built is still a very entertaining read packed with many horror movie references, a love of film-making, and some genuine frights. While the character work felt slightly surface level, a true sense of unease is established in Javier Castillo’s home, a feeling that only grows as the novel progresses, albeit rather slowly then all too quickly. The aspects that make this novel work stem from the idea of horror itself and how the genre brings creative folks together, for better or worse. Christina Henry gives us a rather disjointed explanation as to how a house such as Javier Castillo’s can exist, a house built upon the success of his horror.
The House That Horror Built releases on May 14th from Berkley.
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