The September House by Carissa Orlando #bookreview #horror #supernatural #ghosts #paranormal #thriller

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Title: The September House

Author:  Carissa Orlando

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Page Count:  352

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee. 

Margaret is not most people. 

Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

The September House by Carissa Orlando is a thrilling horror novel that asks the question just how far would you go to protect the house of your dreams? The story is told from the prospective of the main character but does a little flashing back to previous events but mostly takes place at the current time.

Margaret and her husband Hal had finally found the home of their dreams within their price range with the large Victorian on Hawthorn Street. After moving into the home though Margaret and Hal begin to learn there was a reason that the place was vacant as most would flee the discoveries they have made.

Every September the walls in the Margaret and Hal’s home bleed bright red blood oozing out more and more as the month goes by. The blood was one thing but the many ghostly inhabitants are another obstacle to overcome. When most people would have fled immediately Margaret is determined to claim the home for her own but after four years Hal has had enough and leaves leaving Margaret on her own.

I’ve read a lot of horror in my lifetime and often go into them now as I’m probably going to feel I’ve read this before. The September House by Carissa Orlando did do a somewhat comical but still scary take on a haunted house which kept me entertained as it all unfolded. While entertaining though I did guess the twist fairly early on but perhaps it may shock some who don’t read quite as much so I’m keeping this one at four stars overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Carissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in work with children and adolescents. In her “day job,” Carissa works to improve the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Prior to her career in psychology, Carissa studied creative writing in college and has written creatively in some form since she was a child. It was only a matter of time before Carissa, an avid horror fan for much of her life, merged her understanding of the human psyche and deep love for storytelling into a piece of fiction.