The Grip of It
by Jac Jemc
Release Date: August 1st, 2017
Genre
Horror
Appeals of the
Book
• Fast-paced
• Eerie tone
• Flawed characters
Synopsis
James and Julie move out of the city to try and repair their
troubled marriage. They find and quickly purchase a cheap, big house that is
too good to be true in a small town nearby. Despite hearing eerie sounds and
witnessing strange occurrences within and around the home, they stay with hopes
of starting anew. Physical, mental, and emotional ailments break down
James and Julie as they try and uncover the past of the house they thought
would cure all their troubles. Will people believe what they have witnessed? Do
they even believe? And who is their strange elderly neighbor spying on them?
Characteristics
That Fit Into Horror
- Eerie tone.
- Dark atmosphere. Both characters have tension between them, which raises the darkness throughout the book as they are further broken down by the haunted house.
- Contains profanity.
- Setting is a haunted house.
- Supernatural elements.
- Sexual Content.
- Main characters are “…haunted, shattered individuals” (Saricks 118). The house breaks them down into madness.
- Fast-paced due to several jolts at “…irregular, unpredictable intervals” (Saricks 119).
- Several unexplained occurrences keep the book moving, creating a “..sense of unease as we await the unexpected” (Saricks 113).
- Ending is unresolved. You are left with more questions than answers.
Read-A-Likes
All Things Cease to
Appear by Elizabeth Brundage *
House of Leaves by
Mark Z. Danielewski *
Her Every Fear by
Peter Swanson *
Little Sister Death
by William Gay **
The Accidental by
Ali Smith **
* Suggested by NoveList
** Suggested by Kirkus
Review
Works Cited
Saricks, Joyce
G. The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago, IL: ALA,
2009.
It's crazy to me how some covers can really convey the eerie/dark factor, especially when they're so perceptively simple! Did you enjoy reading this novel? I've seen this book in passing before but didn't focus on it too much. Knowing its got an unresolved ending has me more interested in it though! I think that's my favorite part of horror, they don't bother tying everything up nicely.
ReplyDeleteI gave it three out of five stars. Although, I may bump it up to four. I feel too many questions and situations were left unanswered, but I did enjoy it. I really hope their is a sequel, but I know that's asking for a lot with horror novels. Besides the house being haunted, the relationship between the couple caused more madness in them, which led to many interesting scenes in this book. Definitely worth a read!
DeleteI've not heard of this book, but based on your review, it sounds really interesting to me. And I like the fact that it leaves you asking some questions, that it makes you think. It definitely sounds like there could/should be a sequel.
ReplyDeleteThe cover alone is creepy!
I'm with everyone else, I love this cover! Great job on your annotation. Your detailed characteristics are excellent. Full points!
ReplyDelete