“I was trying to clean that mirror,” his fiancée murmured. “But you can’t clean quiet like that out of a house.”

I was provided an ARC from Net Galley, all opinions are my own. House of Dust was one of those novels you could start late in the evening and you wouldn’t realize how horrified you were to turn out the lights because the slow burn horror crept on you that quietly before it pounced. The back and forth narration between Brad (a struggling suicidal crime writer) and Missy (a prostitute with a dark past she’s desperately trying to escape) create a perfect blend of POVs for newcomers to the sleepy town of Three Summers, Tennessee. Both individuals find themselves in the same Southern home at Angel’s Landing and have to unravel the mysteries of the home and the town it resides in. Noah’s world building is brilliant and thought out-I did dock a point because during the beginning it felt more world building that plot building but once you get over that hump he has a great balance of creepy town description and investigation. The excerpts from Brad’s magazine “Southern Gothic” provide an additional take on the happenings of each chapter prior to start and help insert the reader all the more into the shoes of the narrator. I would recommend this novel to someone who loves imaginative world building, creepy small towns, and dirt. Lots and lots of dirt.

I love a good gothic horror. This charming southern town has a dark history. I think the author did an excellent job creating the characters and I loved the story! Thankyou for the copy!

I love a good horror novel, and a southern gothic one even more. So when the chance to review this book came up, how could I resist. And I was no disappointed in the least. The has a way of gripping you almost straight away, and while it tells you what happened, you find yourself forgetting that and hoping that there may be a happy ending at the... well, end. It gave me everything I could want from a horror, leaving me with an unsettling feeling that liked to plague my mind in the dead of night. Brilliant. I can not wait to read the authors next work!

3 stars--I liked the book.

What I enjoyed: If you like the Southern Gothic or Folk Horror genres, this book blends both. The small Southern town in this book is dripping with sinister imagery, with creepy villagers doing creepy things (my favorite!). There's a dreamy, almost paranoid quality to the writing, which mirrors the narrator's (and reader's!) confused state.

What was meh: The book does a narrative "trick" (being vague to avoid spoilers), which I thought didn't add anything to the story and was unfair to readers (I was confused, flipping back pages until I figured out what was going on). I also thought one of the characters, Jennifer, was a blank slate. I would have liked to get to know her better.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

"The House of Dust" by Noah Broyles follows a true-crime reporter and a former sex worker as they seek refuge from their old lives on a plantation they thought was abandoned. The main character, Brad, first stumbles upon the forgotten town of Three Summers on a journey to kill himself. While he doesn't succeed, he finds himself emerged in the strange deserted town. There, on a quest for his next story, he settles into the home of a dead woman, stumbling upon a series of rural southern rituals that he never expected.
The book promises to be a new Southern Gothic novel and it delivers that — almost excessively.
Broyles does a phenomenal job creating a strange and atmospheric world where it feels as though anything could happen. Unfortunately, this almost works against the novel as this excess causes the plot to get lost at points. There are almost too many "horror" moments that they seem to blur together and lose impact. It quickly became a struggle to keep track of what was going on, which detracted from the overall impact of the book.
"The House of Dust" has a fantastic premise, though. I was able to appreciate it in retrospect once I finished the book and wasn't bogged down in the details.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This was hugely interesting. Im still a bit confused on how much was real life and what was fiction. But I really enjoyed this and its a slightly spooky and dark topic.

This book was creepy from beginning to end. Loved the rural Tennessee setting. Characters were strong. Thanks so much for letting me read this book!

This strange but atmospheric novel was my first taste of Southern Gothic and I found myself drawn into the story slowly but skilfully by author, Noah Broyles. The novel's brooding sense of darkness and evil is made even more ominous by the vivid and detailed settings that absolutely drip with atmosphere. The author's use of language is sensuous and so perceptive the reader becomes immersed in this decaying small town with its long-buried evil presence just lurking in the background of every scene. Though the switching narrators can prove a little confusing at first, I quickly became accustomed to the sudden changes and found that it helped the novel achieve a kind of fragmented, dreamlike quality, or perhaps I should say, nightmarish! Perfect for horror fans looking for a beautifully written book.

"The House of Dust" is a read-alike for fans of 'In The Garden of Good and Evil;' it's southern gothic with modern sensibilities. The protagonist is a true crime writer for a magazine called Southern Gothic and as suggested by the description, this novel falls squarely into the small town horror category. There is a 'book within a book' trope.
It has enough familiar elements that fans expect from the genre except the setting felt grittier, like a 'True Detective' more than 'Interview with the Vampire.' I found the timeline of events a bit difficult to decipher in terms of sequence. Nonetheless, it's a quick, atmospheric read. The pacing tended to be a bit all over the place, and I didn't have the easiest time connecting with the protagonist, but fans of crime thrillers will enjoy it.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off very fast and I enjoyed that. Brad was about to end his life when he came across the town of Three Summers. Him and his fiancé move into a plantation house in the town of Three Summers. Soon they begin to realize things are not normal within the town. Such as the people seem to always be awake at night, as well as they all seem to worship something. Brad being a reporter sets out to gather a much information as he can about the town and its inhabitants.

The detail in this book was very descriptive. I felt like I was watching a movie for the most part. The only thing that as a little confusing to me, while reading this book was the switching of POVs. Overall as someone who loves horror, this book was a very great read to me!

Wow! This is my favorite previously-unknown-to-me author I've read since Nathan Ballingrud. Steeped in atmosphere and beautifully written, this book absolutely sucked me in from beginning to end. The pace at which the story unfolds is definitely a slow burn, but not so slow that you'll lose interest. As more and more eerie aspects about the cult of Adamah are revealed, the tension ramps up and then doesn't let go until the conclusion of it all.

My only nitpicks are fairly minor. It seemed to be intentional, but the split between two different narrations proved to be frustratingly confusing to me once revealed. I believe it was done to parallel the two women's pathways to becoming the Queen of Hearts, but when the different narrations are undeniably revealed, it was so jarring. I actually stopped and flipped back through, thinking I had overlooked something. Once I realized what it was, it was smooth sailing again. My other nitpick is a simple formatting error of the ebook version- the text looked very choppy at points, paragraphs running into each other and some sections seemed scrambled up.

I would absolutely recommend this book for fans of Gothic horror, horror about cults, or who like more literary-leaning horror with a heavy atmosphere of dread. I'll definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future!

I received a copy of this novel through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book grabbed me from page one, I found that I was loosing myself while reading it, until about the last 1/3 of the book and I found myself lost. I’m not sure exactly when the story lost me, or how I became disenchanted with it, but it happened and I limped along for the remainder of the book.

The characters were superb and the premise of the story was spot on for that historical rural southern ritualistic worship that has enthralled me in many books recently... but somewhere along the lines the author lost me.

I know for a fact there will be others out there who tell me I’m wrong in my feelings because like I said it is a fascinating read, it just lost my interest towards the end.

I will be recommending still

Great Book. Loved the characters. Wonderful horror story. Enjoyed it from the first line to the last. Would tell my friends and family to purchase.

thanks netgalley for the e-arc.

maybe horror is just not for me, but i just trudged through this book like no other. i normally enjoy horror but this one was a bit off. i can see why some people would love it tho, it’s not bad but not the best.

This book had me hooked from the description. And I couldn't wait to read this book!
This story is haunting but amazing! It has a gothic feel to it. Which added to the suspense that much more!
The writing was beyond great

[★ 3.0 stars]

the story starts with the main character brad a true-crime reporter attempting to kill himself. he doesn't succeed right away and while trying to figure things out he stumbles into a small town called three summers. it's deserted and eerie. he finds his way to a strange house and once he's there he begins to witness very strange events. brad and his soon-to-be wife missy move in and discover more than they ever could have been looking for.

i haven't read much horror but this book is creepy, unsettling, and the first few chapters grabbed my attention right away. it did get a bit confusing at times with alternating pov's and i had to go back more than once to make sure i hadn't misread something. maybe southern gothic isn't exactly my style of horror, but i did enjoy it. all of the mysteries came together in the end and i feel like i will remember certain parts of this book for a while. thank you to netgalley for this arc!

Through Net Galley, I read and advanced copy of The House of Dust by Noah Broyles. This Southern Gothic novel jumps back and forth through time following characters dealing with whatever it is that has a grip over the town of Three Summers in rural Tennessee. Suitably creepy and atmospheric, this debut novel follows a number of damaged characters as they navigate the mysteries of a small town controlled by unseen forces.

The story was a bit difficult to follow at times especially during transition from character to character and places in time. That said, Mr. Broyles brings it all together in the end for a satisfying read.

This one gets 4 stars from me and I expect that we’ll see great things from this talented young writer in the future.

I tried reading this one, but it was to my reading tastes so I have decided to DNF this one rather than force myself through only to give it a mediocre review. I will update this review if I try it again later and feel differently.

Great story, completely enthralling and just the right amount of gothic mystery. But the switches between POVs was confusing and could have been much clearer. There was also quite a bit of issues with the editing which I assume will be fixed before the novel’s official release. Overall, I would categorize this one as a good read.

The House of Dust is a sobering southern gothic with a religious horror twist. There’s no need for readers to have a religious background, but the horror aspects will be much more effective for those who find cults creepy. The deftly painted scenes are so mysterious and bizarre that there’s a sense of dread that the whole tragic story will never come into focus.

Right off the bat, main character Brad intentionally overdoses. He stumbles into some godforsaken hole of a town called Three Summers in a chemical haze, barely grasping his surroundings. Everything feels ominous and surreal as he tries to keep his eyes open and he is utterly unable to make sense of the few snippets of information that make it into his head. Still, he’s intrigued by these scraps and becomes absorbed in the town’s history. This chemical confusion translates from the page to the reader who slowly makes sense of the story as though emerging from their own chemical fog. The effect is spectacular and it’s something I don’t think I’ve experienced in literature before.

Yes, it’s a confusing way to start a book, but it makes the crystallizing of the story that much better. Readers should dedicate a weekend to this book to get the full effect of living inside Brad's head. About halfway through, the story clarifies, and the other main character, Missy, becomes dominant. The parallel timelines keep things moving, but sometimes the interruptions jarred me out of the storyline and I lost momentum.

The House of Dust relies heavily on mystery, but there were some secrets that didn’t really need to be kept. Brad’s fiance’s name, for example. For half the book, she’s just his fiance, but suddenly she has a name. There’s no fanfare, no introduction, and I can only assume this is part of the overall clarifying technique the author started in the beginning of the book. Other mysteries were all clues and no reveal. Some characters’ backstories, for example, had a ton of buildup only to be summarized in a couple paragraphs at the end.

I’m not quite the target audience for this book since I don’t usually read rural horror or bleak tragedies, but the writing style really worked for me. It’s so artful and emotional. From a feminist viewpoint, The House of Dust does raise an eyebrow; there’s a common denominator of damaged goods. But to be fair, none of the characters are shown in their best light. They’re all at rock bottom, so to speak.

Overall, I feel that as a southern gothic, the book succeeds. It’s a bit over-mysterious at some points, and dreary at others. It’s such an original concept, though, that I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Between the sweeping plantation house, claustrophobic rural setting, bizarre rituals, and creeping supernatural elements, The House of Dust truly terrifies.

CW: I started to write a list of potential triggering themes in this book, but it quickly became a paragraph full of spoilers. Long story short, skip this title if you’re a sensitive reader. Phobias and emotional triggers abound.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.