Blog Tour Review: Spook House

Spook House (Harmony, Indiana, 3) by Michael West, October 27, 2012. Published by Seventh Star Press. Source: publisher.

There are some places in this world that go far beyond any normal definition of “haunted.” These places are so evil, so diabolical, that they become gateways to Hell itself. The Fuller Farm is one such place.
It is said that old man Fuller conducted unspeakable acts, blood rituals and human sacrifices, all in an attempt to gain the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate power. And then, he was killed–horribly murdered on his own lands, leaving the house to stand as a vacant monument to his wickedness. But once a door is opened, it can never really be closed.
Now, the stars are right. The gateway is ready to once more unleash unspeakable horror upon the town of Harmony, Indiana. And this will be one Halloween that they will never forget!

First Sentence:

Sheri Foster shuddered, but not because of the air conditioning. 

Spook House may just take the cake on gruesome reads. I would highly suggest that if you are squeamish that you refrain from reading this one while eating. You have been warned!

I do love reading a well written horror novel, especially when the characters are ones that are extremely likable who you want to see survive the ordeal. And that is just what I got with Michael West's Spook House.  

While the main basis of the book is the disappearance of Jeff, Sheri's boyfriend, I liked the way the author was able to include a very personal nature to his characters and how well they interacted with one another. The range of the characters emotions, and how true they were to the scary situation that they found themselves in was one of the things that made this such a great read. I liked it because as you read you came to know and like the characters and hope that they would still be kicking at the end of the book.

What did I think of the scare factor in Spook House? Well, it was pretty scary, but not enough to give me nightmares or anything like that. While I may not have found it extremely terrifying I thought the author did an excellent job of adding tension and creating a setting that, in all likelihood, would terrify most readers with his combination of great storytelling and atmospheric writing that will pull you in.  

What I really enjoyed about Spook House would have to be that Sheri and Robby had the common sense to be afraid of what was going on wit the old Fuller house. From a reader standpoint, it was definitely interesting to see two of the characters show some common sense when it came to a house where things were not exactly all sunshine and roses. I've found that usually with horror books the main characters just dive right in without even realizing that there heading into a dangerous situation, so with the way that Sheri and Robby-kinda-knew what they were getting to made for some interesting reading.

Even though I found this to be an enjoyable read-yes, I said enjoyable about a horror book-I do have one semi-big complaint about Spook House. The swearing! Oh my goodness, there was entirely too much swearing in Spook House for my taste and it just did not sit well with me because the characters threw out the f-word and others like crazy. Y'all know how much I dislike books with an excess of swearing. So, while the swearing was a turn off I really enjoyed Michael West's writing.

Final Verdict: Spook House a creepy good read.

Spook House earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

About the author:

Michael West is the critically-acclaimed author of The Wide Game, Cinema of Shadows, Skull Full of Kisses, and The Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their bird, Rodan, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.
Every Halloween, he turns his garage into a haunted house

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Seventh Star Press author as part of a virtual book tour. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”