Strange Houses

I was so intrigued by the highly original premise for Strange Houses that I dived in straight away and before I knew it, was hooked into the rather macabre mystery at the heart of the book. The story uses floor plans, diagrams, and other illustrations as a key part of the narrative, inviting the reader to interact with the mystery in a way that I found to be both original and engaging; I found myself poring over the floor plans, trying to spot any clues that I may have missed.

The author quickly establishes an unsettling ambience which gradually builds throughout the book; a creeping sense of dread is never far away as the plot moves briskly to its conclusion. While it does ask for a bit of suspension of disbelief here and there, the originality of the concept and the psychological horror more than make up for it.

Overall, it’s an imaginative, unsettling, and very memorable read — the kind of book that lingers with you long after you’ve finished it.

Richard