Jessica (HDB)

Just a quick review on this one. Elderwood Manor starts off like any good horror story should. A man travelling to his boyhood home, a place of dark memories, with his son in tow. It's a premise that holds it's own special brand of ominous pretense. Creepy homes are one of my favorite settings, and I was looking forward to seeing where these authors would take me.

That's where my connection to this story ended though. What followed felt very flat, and I never felt the same initial excitement. I'll concede that this is a novella, but I don't feel that's an excuse not to build up the characters. I felt nothing for these two, not even for the presumably adorable little boy who was in danger. Tougher still, was the fact that the story line really didn't make any sense. The ominous presence that lurked in the house lost its luster, because there was no build up to it. No lead up to the crescendo of weird that came out of nowhere. I was lost, and confused.

So, alas, I can only grant this read two stars. I still love DarkFuse novellas! This one just wasn't my cup of tea.