In the Shadow of Spindrift House

IN THE SHADOW OF SPINDRIFT HOUSE is such a perfect novel that I am rendered speechless. It's so deserving of praise, but I am too awestruck to deliver it! the horror, the characterizations, the familial friendship, the setting, and for this reader, the intense "Lovecraftianness" (yes, I coined that word) of Spindrift House and its "owners" and those Called to it, are beyond my ability to express. Mira Grant is an extraordinary writer, and as much as I loved INTO THE DARKEST DEEPS, I may just love this one more.

Four close friends (two are non-identical twins, the other is a young man and his foster sister) decide on one final ghost-hunting excursion, to an isolated coastal house in Maine, for a very big payout. What could go wrong? What indeed? They can't possibly know what Spindrift House has in mind, but each one will find out, though only one will understand why.

*ARC received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

Oh, Mira Grant, you have taken my childhood and reinvented it into something amazing. I got so many Scooby Doo feelings that were revived from reading this story. Every time I take my glasses off I am now reminded about seeing life in curves rather than straight lines. With lines that will haunt me for all time, I certainly recommend this to people who love paranormal mysteries.

A chill runs down my spine even thinking about this story. It was magnificent and equal parts creepy and lovely. The idyllic prose in the opening scenes sets the mood perfectly for the deeper meaning of the story to come. There are four characters, each utterly relatable in their own way, but Harlowe is our main character. Even from the beginning you know there is something peculiar about her. The more you learn about her family's history and in turn, Spindrift House, the more enthralled you get. Even though it's short, the pacing was perfect. All in all, this book was a wholly original "haunted house" story, and I just couldn't put it down - and I can't stop thinking about it!

Add one part Scooby-Doo to one part Lovecraft, sprinkle on a heavy dash of agony, and you end up with this delightful novella about friendship and family and the unnaturalness of straight lines.

Harlowe Upton and her three best friends are teen detectives who’ve left their teenage years behind and are wondering what comes next. What comes next turns out to be the mystery of Spindrift House, an old Victorian manor in a slowly-drowning New England town with a history of mysterious deaths and other, more horrific things. Harlowe is our narrator and our Velma, and also somewhat more than both those things, though if that’s a spoiler then you weren’t really paying attention.

Lovecraftian anything is very much my cup of tea, and add in the inestimable Seanan McGuire, and it’s guaranteed to be a treat. This was no exception; even at such a short length, the characters breathed, the story gripped, and I kind of didn’t want it to end. Despite the aforementioned agony.

(As an FYI: this is under her Mira Grant pseudonym, which usually is more mad science-y than her Seanan McGuire work, but if there was a science basis to the story here, I missed it. So be aware of that, if that’s important to you.)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.