While reading this book I realized this was not going to be a jump out and scare you right away type read. The slow burn of what the Main Character was going through was done pretty well. I did at some point want to smack some sense into her though, but I guess when you have to deal with the Whisper Lady things get a little muddled. I would have liked more background to the family's story after the loss of their little brother to make it easier to know all of the characters or even more of what Lennox was like before he died.

After receiving word that her older brother, who suffered from agoraphobia, has died in her childhood home, Dakota makes the trip to her hometown to help her parents handle his affairs and things. However, this house is not what it seems….

The storyline in this book was great! The author has a way with story building in a short amount of time. However, the second part of the book felt rushed and lacking. There was so much that could have been done. I enjoyed the book overall, but I do wish there would have been more to it.

This was a quick read, perfect for a reader who is on the fence about horror. The story had a great backbone and had that creepy, lurking feeling throughout.

I did not expect to have such a strong reaction to this book. I loved it. I don’t tend to read modern horror because I’m a scared little baby who always thinks she’s seeing something out of the corner of her eye. (ever heard of eyelashes??) Because this is a great book, naturally I was incapable of reading it at home or at night. Even only reading at work, I knocked it out in two days. On multiple occasions, I finished a chapter and started standing up to go do something, then caught a few words of the next chapter and sat my ass right back down for another chapter. Long story longer, it is quite good and I recommend it.

The story does a fantastic job of describing the sensations and emotions the character is feeling in a way that I could immediately relate to. There is an exploration of the feelings of grief in a relatable but not overwhelming way. Dakota feels her feelings enough to know she needs to box that shit up because she has things to do, and I’ve never read anything more relatable in my life. It’s something I’m sure most people can relate to.

Grief is really fucking hard, and this is a spectacular demonstration of that. The depictions of her mother swallowed up by grief multiple times definitely tugged at my heart, reminded me of my own mother and some unfortunate deaths we’ve had in our family. Dakota’s parents completely left their home for their health. It was just for physical health on the surface, but you understand by the end that it was just as much for their emotional and mental health as well.

I also found the way her brother stayed in his home, wasting away to be a deeply jarring image. It immediately got under my skin and stirred the fears I have somewhere in there about wasting my life at home, never wanting to leave the house. I know I get up and go to work every day, but I still saw a part of myself in Lennox and that scared me on a different level.

Overall, this was a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. I probably did a terrible job explaining why you should read it, grief-stricken horror isn’t necessarily a fun genre, but it was worth the journey. If you have experienced grief in your life, or even simply a fear of the dark, you’ll want to see this story through to the end.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

A great read that was easy to fall into with its simple yet still elegant prose that always kept on point, which is what I like to see in a novella.

This story follows Dakota, a young woman who has created a happy life for herself, yet finds herself pulled back into both the current plus past grief and trauma of losing a loved one under mysterious circumstances. I found it a quiet horror with a slow yet steady build up, but what impressed me the most was the way the author wrote of grief and how differently people process and deal it.

It gives off the feel of a more modern horror with some gothic elements, using things we ourselves might have found ourselves enjoying during our own childhoods such as board games like the titular Mouse Trap. I also appreciated the delicate way that video game, particularly MMO, addiction was dealt with.

A solid debut, and I admit that I initially rated it a 4* because I usually prefer my horror a bit scarier but thinking over it, I thought that this was a fantastic read and deserved to be rated as a book in itself and not as a book in its genre.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read this in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

4.5*

I absolutely adored this book! I read this book in 2 sittings and that never happens to me. This book hooked me from the beginning and I could not put it down. I loved how this book intertwines grief and loss with elements of horror. Caryn Larrinage does such an amazing job at making you care about the characters and want the best for them. The way Caryn Larrinaga portrays Dakota the main character's emotions as she deals with the death of her brother was beautifully done. The way Dakota is dealing with our emotions about her brothers' death was so real and raw, and I feel like people can really connect with her. Dakota is riddled with guilt and regrets about her brother and you really get to see how she deals with that. The reason this isn't getting five stars is that I felt that the ending was rushed. I really wished we got more at the end about how and why Dakota made the decisions that she did. Other than that this really was an amazing book, I highly recommend it!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

This book expertly intertwines grief and loss with elements of horror and a haunted house/family. Having lost someone close to me myself, this book was incredibly relatable and written in such a beautiful way. Not only did I feel like I could relate so much to the main character, it was wonderful feeling not so alone in all the emotions I have experienced through loss. Check the trigger warnings before diving into this novella. It can hit you hard for such a quick read.

Dakota Scott is an independent young woman with a full life. When she is called by her parents to say that her big brother Lennox had died, she rushes back to the old family home were Lennox lived alone, to meet up with her parents and make arrangements for his funeral. Old memories soon start to surface and weird dreams come thick and fast.

This is an easy read novella, with a haunted house, ghostly goings on and demonic possession. A good plot, with a fair amount of suspense, but the ending was too abrupt and far too neat. No spoilers, but horror readers don’t always care for a twee ending! Until the last chapter or so I thought this might be a 4* read, but an unsatisfactory ending for me I’m afraid.

Thank you NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the horror elements going on in this story, it does a great job in keeping me invested and getting in a tense atmosphere. I enjoyed the way Caryn Larrinaga wrote this, she has a great concept going on and wrote it really well. The plot does a great job in telling that story and I was invested in what was happening to them. I look forward to read more from Caryn Larrinaga.

"Cool air breathed out of the open door. The sharp odor of mildew tickled Dakota’s nose and made her sneeze. It took her a moment to remember which side of the door the light switch was on, and when her hand found it, it was already flipped up. A wave of panic washed over her. She remembered the morning she’d heard about Lennox, the burned-out bulb in her bathroom, the silver eyes above the shower. That was what waited for her below. She could feel it. If she took a single step forward, the glowing-eyed thing would reach one bony hand through the empty back of the stairs and grab her ankle."

Caryn Larrinaga's Mouse Trap is delightfully creepy.
I was surprised by how quickly the pages flew by and the ending came much too soon.
Ms. Larrinaga wrote some compelling and believable characters and the dialogue never seemed stilted or flat but genuine.
The description for the book--"Death haunts the Scott family home.
Twenty years ago, Dakota Scott’s baby brother died falling down the back stairs. Twenty-four hours ago, her older brother, Lennox, wasted away into nothing in the same house. Two deaths, just floors apart, yet no one suspects a connection. Settling Lennox’s affairs lures Dakota back to the family’s old Victorian home overlooking Astoria. It has changed over the years–what was once a happy home is, now filled with sadness, strange memories, and lights that won’t stay lit." sets up the premise for the book.
The comparisons to Shirley Jackson by the publisher are not unwarranted. Ms. Larrinaga deftly captures the same vibe and atmosphere present in stories like "We Have Always Lived in the Castle".
Thanks to #NetGalley, #TimberGhostPress, and Caryn Larrinaga for the ARC of #MouseTrap.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This book did a great job of providing a fast short read about a haunted house. It was mysterious enough to keep me interested and wanting more. I know this was meant to be a short read but it just left me wanting so much more. I wanted to see more glimpses into the other family members. Also the ending just wasn't really satisfying for my taste. Overall it was a good read and did what it needed to do.

I really enjoyed this! This story was unsettling but didn't quite make me scared of the dark like I wanted it to. I was wanting more creepy scenes with the Whisper Lady. The length is perfect, it doesn't drag on or leave me with questions, I will happily read more horror from Caryn Larrinaga. Their writing draws you in and makes the "scary scenes" more intense. It's just enough description that lets your mind fill in the blanks which makes the monster even scarier. I highly recommend.

This is a solid horror novella. The author does a great job of telling a clear and concise story.

Our main character Dakota finds out that her brother died. She moved away for school/work but her brother lived as a shut-in in the house where they grew up. Dakota wrestles with a lot of guilt for not making more of an effort to stay connected with her brother, not visiting more, not trying to help him overcome his issues, etc. Meanwhile, as she stays in the house, she starts to fall into lethargic/depressed state while slightly weird things may be happening - lightbulbs burning out, blinds closing on their own.

The book kept me engaged throughout. Often, horror short stories and novellas can struggle with setting a clear world and providing satisfactory resolution, but this book did a great job of that. This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to checking out her other writings.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

After receiving a phone call from her adoptive parents, Dakota finds out that her agoraphobic brother has passed away. She quickly packs her things and heads back to her hometown, where not only her brother's belongings wait for her, but also a sinister force that has been dormant for over twenty years. The question is: Can evil ever truly go away?

When I first started reading Mouse Trap I knew it was going to be a book full of grief, but I wasn't prepared for how beautifully Caryn Larrinaga would portray Dakota's emotions as she deals with the death of her brother. Sure, in its essence this is a book about a supernatural monster, but the true horror lies in the way humans punish themselves over the death of our loved ones. Not only is Dakota devastated that her brother passed, but she is also riddled with guilt and regrets. And to be quite honest, these emotions can be way scarier than a specter waiting in the dark. That is not to say, that the supernatural elements weren't scary, they were just more of a slow, creeping burn.

All in all, I really enjoyed Mouse Trap and I hope to read more from the author in the future.

I will never recover from this book. It doesn't help that I decided to read it while sitting in my definately haunted former sanitarium office.
The book starts out sad then things build. For some reason not a single word is boring, even though our protagonist is just clearing out a house she hadn't spent much time in for the last decade. She is sorting and doing all that mindless stuff many of us have to do at some point.
My stomach lurched when she decided she wanted to order in about halfway through.

I am going to go home and remove all the blinds and curtains from my house.

Thank you 1000 times for letting me read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Ghost Press for this ARC! I really enjoyed this spooky novella. It was right parts clever and creepy. This was my first read by this author, but certainly not my last!

Grief. Overwhelming, heart-wrenching, all-consuming, drowning grief. The kind that eats your soul and devours all sense of happiness. That's exactly what this book captured for me. This felt so real and raw that I found myself unable to tear myself from the pages if this story until I had read the last sentence. This story is fast-paced, but hits so hard you won't see the end coming until it's staring back at you from the shadows in the corner of your room. Go read this book!

This is a fantastic spooky novella that manages to give you the creeps while making you wonder if these things are real or not.

A family that has experienced unfathomable loss at the hands of an entity they call the whisper lady may still be in danger. When her brother dies mysteriously in the family home, our protagonist and her parents are left to deal with the aftermath.

As she thinks about the past, we find out that an entity has plagued them since childhood, luring children to their deaths. And now, even as an adult, the protagonist begins to experience things in the home that assaults her mind and makes her question if this whisper lady is real after all.

This could be considered a slow burn book but there's enough intrigue, suspense, and an overall feeling of dread throughout to keep it interesting and engaging. I highly recommend it!

This was an interesting little story about family and grief. I thought it was a nice metaphor, and the main character had some agency. I always appreciate that.

It wasn’t a difficult read, finished in a day, and there were some eerie moments, but the pacing toward the end felt a bit too rushed, and I wish there had just been a little bit more to set up the ending. The climactic moment lost some of its punch because of that.

All in all though, a fine haunted house story.

All opinions are my own. I was given a review copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.