Have to say, I was honestly surprised at how well the female main character was handled, I was preparing for some cringeworthy moments but honestly can't recall any. And for a story that has a lot of violence directed at women, it didn't feel exploitive like some other horror books I've read.

As a haunted house story there was some parts you could see coming a mile off but it was still enjoyable. I do wish he got to the point a little faster though. A lot of gawking about corridors and listening to footsteps. Repetitive descriptions of the house gor annoying, started skipping over paragraphs at points. Too many nightmare sequences as well, one or two is fine but here there was around six or seven.

The story changes tact about two thirds through, same as 'the ritual' but it was handled far better here.

Aside from the horror angle I really liked all the details about living just above the poverty line in modern Britain. Trying to scrape enough hours with temp agencies, doing shitty jobs with co-workers you barely get to know before you're assigned somewhere else, staying in to avoid spending money and surviving off the yellow sticker section and realising that most people you know are in the same boat and can't offer much help so you're trapped. It was nearly as uncomfortable as the horror bits tbh. Especially when she wants to leave, realise she can't afford anywhere else, friends have no room, family is dead or crazy and all the women's shelters have waiting lists.

I didn't realise the Netflix film was based on this book but it looks like it's changed a lot, moving everything to America and it sounds shite tbh

Very old fashioned ghost story. It's set during the war in the lake district, which I thought might liven it up but the war didn't really add much to the story imo.

It's fairly short and moves along pretty quickly. The main character is a bloke whose left crippled when his ship is torpedoed and he's sent with his deaf kid sister to recuperate in their spooky holiday home. He's a bit bland and so is the nurse he falls in love with immediately. Plus we know they both survive from the first page so there's no tension there. The kid sister being deaf and managing to hear ghosts is the main gimmick but other than that she's not too special either. We also know she doesn't survive from the first page so you're just waiting to see how. His parents are two massive knobheads but they don't appear much.

The whole romance subplot felt unnecessary, they are too bland and the books too short to developing it in a meaningful way

None of it's really scary, the usual whispering children and spooky shadows. There's the usual tropes, kids disappearing when they go after them, weird photos on the camera, nightmarish prophecies, etc.

The second half of the book introduces too many characters for it's short length and also includes a trip back and forth from London and by then I just wanted them to get to the point about what the ghosts even want. The big reveal feels rushed and when bad shit happens the characters are just like 'oh no, anyway..'. and it's jarring.

You do learn about what happened at the house but no real answers as to why they can be seen all of a sudden, or why they're luring people. Some things that are brought up earlier are left vague. And one bit near the end is cheesy as fuck.