Sunday, August 3, 2014

Review: Elderwood Manor by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes

Elderwood Manor was published by DarkFuse July 15, 2014. It's a novella length horror ebook by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes. I gave it 3 stars. I liked it, but I wasn't crazy about it. The novella starts out with Bruce Davenport and his four year old son Cody arriving at Bruce's childhood home in the Ozarks after receiving a weird sort of phone call from his mother and fresh on his wife's death and loss of his job. He's penniless, arriving there on gas fumes and hoping to find warmth, gas and food within the manor.
"I want to walk, Daddy." Bruce tensed when Cody spoke, as if he didn't want the place to hear his son's voice, to know that another generation of Davenport had returned. (location 89)
The first half of the story is all wonderfully creepy like a haunted house story or a Gothic story. Things are lurking just beyond sight. Noises heard, but nothing there when you look for the most part. There is very little to prepare you for the last third of the book where it rapidly become a different sort of story. It goes from 0 to 60 in a matter of a few sentences.
Something had snatched Cody while they slept. Something had his boy, his only son, and was carrying him off with each heavy step into the black heart of Elderwood Manor. (location 534)
Therein lies why I gave it 3 stars. I didn't like the abrupt style change. For some people they will not only like it, but love it. But, it doesn't suit me. I think the story is good, but not great. I give it 3 stars. Locations of quotes were on my Kindle.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

2 comments:

  1. That is so weird that the style completely changed in the third part. That is sad!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    1. For me it really was, for other people it may have just upped the excitement. Thanks for commenting!

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