When Guy finds the deeds to a house in his mother’s attic, it seems like an incredible stroke of luck. Sure, the building hasn’t been inhabited in forty years and vines strangle the age-stained walls, but Guy is convinced he can clean it up and sell it. He’d be crazy to turn down free money. Right?
The house is hours from any other habitation, and Guy can’t get phone reception in the old building. He decides to camp there while he does repairs. Surely nothing too bad can happen in the space of a week.
But there’s a reason no one lives in Rookward House, and the dilapidated rooms aren’t as empty as they seem…
A deranged woman tormented a family in Rookward forty years before. Now her ghost clings to the building like rot. She’s bitter, obsessive, and jealous… and once Guy has moved into her house, she has no intention of ever letting him leave.
The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates. Published by Poisoned Pen, 2020. Total of 262 pages.
The Haunting of Rookward House takes you on a real roller coaster ride! It throws you through so many loops. You never really know what is real or not. You can’t even trust anything or anyone. Is there or isn’t there a ghost? Is Guy having a mental break down? All in his head?
Speaking of Guy, I really love / hate him. Guy, OMFG, dude! So many red flags EVERYWHERE that there is something wrong going on! He just writes everything off as the wind or critters or whatever. DUDE. Get out of the house! Get out, get out, GET OUT. I seriously kept yelling at him the whole time. Lots of face palming too.
Even though I was yelling at Guy the whole time, I felt bad for his situation. It was entertaining to watch his character grow in such a short time. I kept hoping for a happy outcome for him at the end. I wanted to cheer for him.
I am not new to Darcy’s work. I’ve read a lot from her and she is always so entertaining. So creative! Rookward did not disappoint me. The ghost is one creepy nasty. It felt like this was one of the most dangerous ghosts I’ve seen from her so far.
I was a little afraid at how it would turn out with virtually one character 98% of the book. I enjoyed it! I had fun yelling at Guy. The author does a decent job balancing Guy being alone, mixing in a few other people when it was needed. It worked out really well. A very entertaining journey for Guy.
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