What a chilling, goosebump-covered arms read was "The Drowning House" by Cherie Priest. Frightfully good!

This was creepy and had great character building.

This starts out pretty intense in the best way. The build up is done masterfully. The middle lost me but I found my way back just in time to knocked out by the ending. So well done.

My issues were with the middle, though. It frequently lost my attention. I was never able to fully grasp that engaging feeling I had in the beginning.

All in all, the was interesting. The premise was so much fun and everything culminated into this place so unique, I wasn’t expecting it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of The Drowning House by Cherie Priest.

I really enjoy Priest's The Booking Agents series and am hoping to see more come out soon! When I saw she had another book geared for publication I automatically put it as a must read. With all the respect and accolades to Priest, this may have been a mistake on my part. While The Booking Agents are way more cozy mystery, I did not fully prepare my brain for a horror novel - which is totally on me, and this book gave me all the chills and scaries. If you are a fan of Stephen King esque horror, this is definitely a book in that vein.

In The Drowning House we follow childhood friends Melissa and Leo as they search for their missing friend Simon who disappeared in the period immediately following the death of his grandmother at their island home. A strange home has washed ashore next to Simon's house and there is no sign of him anywhere, though paranormal warnings and apparitions begin to appear to Melissa and Leo. Can they find their missing friend before it is too late? And can they save themselves and the island from whatever is coming from the drowning house? It's hard to post more without including a lot of spoilers, but this is an engaging, page turning read that turns very spooky right around the 50% mark.

I am keeping this at five stars knowing that I am not the ideal audience for this book - Cherie Priest is an excellent writer, and she has developed Melissa and Leo and Simon's backstory in-depth, as well as created a haunting atmosphere from page one. It is a well thought out story and a great new addition to Priest's bibliography.

What an odd and wonderful book this was!

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into at first. Was it dark fantasy? Cosmic Horror? Just generally weird?

It felt like a mix of all of the above, along with a good dose of grief, terror, and simply exquisite writing.

From the start, I was hooked. I was so enthralled by the idea of this ‘house wreck’ and what it meant and was both saddened and horrified by the things that wept and screamed in the corners.

I will very happily read the author again!

• ARC via Publisher

Awesome, I loved it! Cherie Priest does a masterful job with The Drowning House. The plot is absolutely mesmerizing, and comes across as plausible, the characters are well developed and all quite believable; the setting paints a natural and great picture for the story to unfold. The prose is so well done, and in combination with the plot, characters and setting places you right in the heart of the action. The aspects of the story involving the supernatural are so well written that even skeptics can get on board. Protagonists Leo and Melissa (friends since childhood) get a mysterious message from their other childhood friend Simon that his grandmother died suddenly. They rush to get to and support Simon, curious to find out what actually happened to his grandmother, but then also to find him as he has inexplicably disappeared. The baffling discovery of a house that washed up on shore the night Simon's grandmother died soon opens a pandora's box and takes them on a wild and bizarre ride that test the boundaries of their friendship. The book is truly a haunting, enthralling horror-thriller. that grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. I highly recommend The Drowning House to all; I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. My review is voluntary.

For Stephen King fans, this book is a must read. A mysterious looking house washes up on the beach of an island off the Northwestern coast. With this strange event, the elderly woman who ownes the nearest home rushes out and dies on the beach. Her grandson also disappears. When two childhood friends return to investigate what has happened to their friend, scary things start to happpen and both begin to see and imagine things totally beyond belief. An eerie and suspenseful book. I loved it!

A mysterious rundown house washes up on the waterfront property of the very elderly Mrs. Culpepper. She does not survive the night. Her grandson, Simon, texts his friend Melissa asking for her help. Melissa and Leo, who both spent summers on this tiny island in the Pacific Northwest, rush to help and find Simon has disappeared. This book has been described as haunting and atmospheric and it most certainly is a horror story. The characters are well defined and the story mesmerizing. Fans of this genre will not be disappointed! With thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews