Estranged childhood friends Leo and Melissa get a message from their third childhood friend Simon that his beloved grandmother has died, allegedly scared to death by something she saw on the beach. By the time they make it from their urban adult lives back to remote Marrowstone Island where Simon and his grandmother lived, Simon is nowhere to be found. They do find the thing that scared his grandmother to death - an entire (mostly) intact house has washed up on the shore in their backyard. Their hunt for the origin of the ‘housewreck’ and the fate of their friend leads them to an archive, a creepy hidden basement, a cemetery, and the truth about Simon’s grandmother. How did a whole house wash out to sea 70 years ago, and what does it mean that it’s come back?

A very spooky haunted house/eldritch horror story. It feels like it could be a sequel to Maplecroft/Chapelwood, just a century later and on the other side of the country. Melissa and Leo’s friendship feels very real and specific - they used to be close, somewhat against their will, and haven’t talked in years but are still connected by their unrequited love for Simon. They worked together really well, each gaining motivation from the confidence they believe the other to have, not realizing they’re both equally lonely and scared. Priest’s writing is funny, as always, even while the plot itself is very not-funny. There’s no happy ending here, but there is revenge. ( )

A sudden death, a static voice message, a missing friend. Three friends grew up together on a small island. They are adults now, have drifted apart, until one reaches out to bring them both back. The grandmother who cared for them all each summer has passed away. But when the 2 friends come back, the one who called them is missing and they aren't sure what's going on.

This is a slow burn. The story takes quite a few chapters to get going. It gives some past scenes, to tie the three kids together, and it gives more context to the present. The story doesn't really get going until at least half way. From there, though, it does get a pretty good clip going and feels like a race to the conclusion.

But the conclusion was a bit of a let down for me. And I never grew on the 3 main characters. I knew little of Simon and found Melissa completely unlikable (right from that first chapter and I never found her be redeemed) and Leo's hunger to sell the house was just ew. I did find the house creepy and, if it had stuck closer to there, definitely would have liked it more.

If you like creepy houses with runes and locked doors, then you might just love this one. I think it just didn't work for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. ( )

“It’s bizarre, right? The way the house is so… slippery. Just slides right out of your mind, the moment you’re not looking at it.”

A mysterious house washes up on the shore of an island in the Pacific Northwest, and then an elderly woman named Mrs Culpeper dies under mysterious circumstances. Her grandson Simon reaches out to his old friends for help, and then he vanishes. The house is odd, there are ghosts.

The premise is really interesting unfortunately it just didn't really live up to it's potential for me.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Much like a Tim Powers novel, our protagonists encounter bad mojo far outside their experience. Unlike a Tim Powers novel, sacrifices take place off page, and the story has a happy(ish?) ending (for some characters).

A fun read, but it could have been much deeper and creepier. Our protagonists don’t really have that much to do with any of the mystical stuff (mostly ghost-on-ghost action), and while they do their part, they spend a lot of time bickering over things they’ve held on to since their childhood friendship. Despite living in what seems largely like our world, they are remarkably non–genre savvy.

It also could have used a bit more at the end. We get the fireworks, and the immediate fallout, but there’s no sense of how these events really affected our protagonists.

We also don’t get much about the origins of the problem—we know the bad guy is bad, and we know what he did, sort of, and why he did it, sort of, but we don’t get any sense of what drove him to his badness other than a bit about how he’s a greedy man who wants power and control, which isn’t at all uncommon, but doesn’t generally lead to potentially world-destroying plans.

So: An okay read, kind of a fun ride, but a lot less creepy than it could have been. If the protagonists weren’t adults (sort of), the book feels more like a YA than full-on horror, Cherie Priest can (and has) do much, much better, so don’t write her off based solely on this book. ( )

Two friends rush to the Washington island of their childhood summers when Simon disappears at the same time his grandmother dies when a mysteries MCM house washes ashore. Now in their forties, Leo and Melissa find an ancient evil that can imperil the island and more. ( )

On Marrowstone Island, best friends Simon Culpepper, Melissa Toft and Leo Alvarez spend every Summer together. Three "Goonies" who enjoy fireworks, swimming and shooting slingshots around Grandmother Culpepper's property. After Leo nearly drowns, he begins to see strange things in the shadows and hear faint cries at night. Mrs. Culpepper knowingly assures him they are harmless.

Years later, Mrs. Culpepper is found dead and Simon is missing. With only a cryptic email from Simon to go by, Leo and Melissa return to Marrowstone. A whole house has been washed up on the beach and shockingly no one pays it any mind. It's no storm wreck, but a sign that something or someone has returned. No longer naive children, long forgotten conversations take on new meaning. Together, Leo and Melissa learn that Mrs. Culpepper had an estranged sister, Alcesta, whose power-obsessed husband might be behind all of it.

The premise is what really grabbed my attention, however I was left a bit disappointed. Leo and Melissa are loyal to a fault, and that's admirable, but their undying love for Simon seems forced. Leo and Melissa have been pining for him for over 20 years and still bicker over him. As far as we know, Simon is an ordinary guy, so why was he so extraordinary to them? Because we learn so little about Simon, both Leo and Melissa come off as self-centered with some character growth at the end.

Aunt Alcesta had the potential to be a really compelling character, like her sister, but her role was to simply provide the exposition. But how did Charlotte, Alcesta and her husband come to obtain their hidden occult knowledge? How exactly did Simon disappear? The darkest parts were far too brief. I definitely needed more of Simon's family history to fully piece this one together. ( )