In this haunted house horror story, empty nesters and later-in-life couple, Hal and Margaret finally purchase a dream Victorian-style house in the middle of the country near (ish) a small town. At first, things are fine. They're renovating and redecorating but then things …more start to go downhill. Isn't that the way it always is for a haunted house?

If you like slow-build, unreliable narrator stories with quite a bit of gore, you'll like The September House. This is Carissa Orlando's debut novel and it packs quite the punch at the end. The storytelling isn't linear so it's a bit hard to keep up with at first. Margaret is telling the story and it seems that when she remembers things, she describes them as if they're happening right now. Along with the horror aspects, Orlando touches on issues of alcoholism, domestic abuse, and mental illness. So if those things tend to be your triggers, you might want to stay away from this one. They are part and parcel of the entire story.

I enjoyed the book. I love unreliable narrators. It was scary enough for me that I had to put it down a couple times but then I can be a weenie. Some of Orlando's descriptions reminded me of devices used in horror movies I've seen, so nothing really new there. The best part of the book as far as I'm concerned is the ending. I can see some good discussions arising from this. (less)