| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| ⭐ Rating | 2.5/5 |
| Genre | Gothic Horror |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Pages | 288 |
| Would I Recommend? | Only if you’re new to horror |
| Similar To | The Hacienda |
A horror novel set in the Minnesota, this book was one that I normally would not pick up. But since it was available on Kindle as both an ebook and audiobook, I went for it. Audiobooks have become my go-to while working instead of listening to music, and it allows me to get through books rather quickly. This book was relatively short though, less than 300 pages, and I want to say the audiobook was about 8 or 9 hours.
Here is the book’s description:
“In the tourist town of Wharton, on the coast of Lake Superior, Tess Bell is renovating her old family home into a bed-and-breakfast during the icy dead of winter…
“As the house’s restoration commences, a shuttered art studio is revealed. Inside are paintings Tess’s late grandfather, beloved and celebrated artist Sebastian Bell, hid away for generations. But these appear to be the works of a twisted mind, almost unrecognizable as paintings she and others familiar with his art would expect. The sinister canvases raise disturbing questions for Tess, sparking nightmares and igniting in her an obsession to unearth the truth around their origins.
“What evil has been locked away for so many years? The ominous brushstrokes, scratching at the door, and moving shadows begin to pull Tess further and further into the darkness.”
A couple of things to note about this book are that the main character’s name is Amethyst but she goes by Tess; and that Sebastian Bell is her grandfather whom she refers to as Sebastian Bell. I don’t know why this annoyed me as I read (or rather listened) to this book. I guess, I would never refer to my grandparents by their full name even if they are no longer living. But Sebastian was supposedly a famous painter, whose paintings would be worth millions, so maybe that had something to do with it. Since his death, the family survived mostly on his foundation that his wife had established in his name. Tess has moved into her grandfather’s historic home, which she hopes to turn into a bed and breakfast.
What I Liked About the Book
The main mystery of the book is that Tess hears a scratching noise in her home that only seems to occur at night. The scratching noise stems from a sealed off section in the house that has been boarded up and not just a door she can easily open. She is divorced, her son is grown, and so she lives in the house alone. I know I would be freaked out if I were in her position. She asks for help from her neighbor Jim who is a sweet older man, and he connects her with Wyatt who helps her with a plumbing issue, and Tess eventually asks Wyatt for help with getting this sealed off room open to investigate the noise. This was the most intriguing part of the book because I truthfully had no idea what to expect.
Turns out, when they finally do open the door, there is nothing there of course, and there are no signs of an animal ever being there. This, of course, has weird implications. Was Tess imagining the noise? Or was there really nothing there? She also befriends a stray dog who apparently is not owned by anyone, and she quickly adopts the dog, calling him Storm. Storm detects something and can hear the noise, too, so this proves to Tess that she wasn’t imagining things.
Anyway, I do not want to spoil anything else. But it being a horror book, I’m sure you can guess what the scratching noise is.
What I Didn’t Like About the Book
There is a little bit of romance in the book, which I thought honestly fell flat. I didn’t think the characters Tess and Wyatt had any chemistry; he was just around and seemed like a nice guy.
I also didn’t think any of the characters had much personality going for them. Tess was a rather bland MC. Freaky, unexplainable events happen in the house, and Tess doesn’t really do much about them. She doesn’t go anywhere, try to get away from the problem. She tries to get information from her father, who grew up in the house, but he isn’t much help. And during the climax of the book when things were happening, Tess doesn’t really seem afraid, maybe a bit nervous, but that’s about it. So I didn’t really feel the fear.
There was also a weird history to the town that I didn’t understand the purpose of. Wyatt’s great-great grandfather was the founder of the town, and he apparently had lived some life where he had a wife who was native to the area, but one day, she is gone and all of her family and everything he had built. But he doesn’t want to leave, in case she returns, so he stays there and eventually it establishes the town. I think there is a character who explains what happened, but it wasn’t significant enough of a reason to really make much of a difference in the book.
Finally, I didn’t really care for the ending or the reasoning behind the mysterious noise. It really didn’t make sense to me, and the final chapter jumps back in time to explain exactly what happened to Sebastian Bell and his family. It honestly didn’t need to be there; everything was explained in the previous chapters.
My Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Overall, I would give this book a 2.5-3 star rating. Truthfully, I think it could have had more mysteries and could have had more characterization. I think this could be a great first book to dip your toes into reading a somewhat horror, ghost, or gothic novel. The mysteries were easily guessed and anticipated, but also, just didn’t carry enough weight to keep me intrigued. I don’t think I would have finished this book had I not listened to the audiobook.
If you are interested in books similar to this one, here are some suggestions:
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas – I read this book myself and thought it was great!
Goodreads suggests The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell; The Thin Place by C.D. Major; The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb – This book has slightly higher rating on Goodreads than The Stroke of Winter, if that matters.
From these book suggestions, The Thin Place intrigues me. I may see if that is available on Kindle and add that to my TBR list.
As always, thanks so much for reading. Have a blessed day!
What Jas Reads 