What do readers think of House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty? Write your own review.

Once I started reading The House of Bathory it was hard to put down. My favorite genre is historical fiction based on factual characters or events; and Linda Lafferty's telling of the Blood Countess did not disappoint. This is such an engrossing story and Lafferty does a wonderful job of transporting the reader back in time. After reading this novel, I will definitely be checking out some of her other books.

When I came across House of Bathory I was intrigued. I learned from Wikipedia that the Countess of Bathory was infamous--"…the most prolific female serial killer in history"-- but I had never heard of her. After reading about who she was, and when and where she lived, I had to read this book. I was not disappointed.
Two stories are told: the fascinating historical story in Cachtice Castle in 1610 leading up to the Countess's arrest; and the second story, just as fascinating, that begins in 2010 Colorado. Together, these two stories are expertly told, and House of Bathory becomes quite an exciting, 'unputdownable' reading experience. Linda Lafferty's vivid characters greatly contributed. I found some brave, plucky, intuitive, resourceful, while others were depraved, deranged, despicable—all quite hard to forget.
At the beginning, there is a quote from C.G. Jung: "…Am I a combination of the lives of these ancestors and do I embody these lives again?..." As House of Bathory unfolded, I found myself returning to this quote again and again.

I was totally engrossed in this book. The author's construct of moving the story line back and forth from the past to the present was well done and only built up this reader's interest in what was going to happen next. The plot was well thought out and the characters were fascinating - everything from a Goth to a historian to an evil countess - and it worked! Learning about Jungian psychology was an added plus. If you need a page-turner to take you away, this is the book for you.

This is an excellent book for those interested in the legend of Dracula. The story is based on the historical record of the Bathory family from the 1600's in Slovakia and brought cleverly to present times. The characters are well developed and memorable. The castle setting is very descriptive and easy to imagine. It is not for the squeamish as descriptions of brutality are rather graphic. The interweaving of the past and present plots is expertly done and keeps you engrossed right to the very end of the book.

This was a fascinating book. I was hesitant to read it when I realized the background of the Countess Bathory. However There were many other interesting persons brought into the book.it turned out to be suspenseful and hard to put down. I found myself reading late into the night to find out what would happen next,even though I had looked ahead and knew what happened to the countess.
It would make a wonderful discussion in a book club.
The author did a good job of tying in the 21st and the 17th centuries. Sometimes this can be confusing, but not in this case.
According to the author's bibliography she did research Countess Bathory so she was a real person. Some of the descriptions of her activities made you wonder.
Overall a good read.

At first, I did not find the book to my liking. But as I moved through the first part I found myself rushing to find out what would happen next.The author deftly switches from 2010 to 1610, while keeping the reader totally focused on what is being read at the moment. Even though the plot felt a little "improbable" and the language a little "dumbed down", it did not deter my enjoyment and excitement as I moved into the evil world of the Bathory's. It would make a great Halloween read for a book club.

The author has a gift for bringing historical events to life with her own special spin. In this tale, she uses characters and events that spawned legends of Count Dracula and dark castles.
Ms. Lafferty masterfully, weaves back and forth between modern day and 17th century eastern Europe.
I loved this book as much as her previous offering, "The Bloodletter's Daughter". I couldn't put it down.

I was excited at the thought of "House of Bathory." The idea of weaving two story lines that happened 400 years apart, and adding in Jungian analysis and historical research appealed to my reading tastes. For the most part, Lafferty succeeds, but at times the shifting back and forth between plot lines gets a bit confusing. This did detract from my overall enjoyment. I liked the Betsy-Daisy (and its closely associated Grace line, that helps unify the other two story lines) better than the gruesome Countess of Bathory history.

I commend Lafferty for her research, and for the creation of Daisy, my favorite among the characters. It was also personally exciting for me to read the scene set in my beloved Rubin Museum here in New York City. To find that in novel mainly set in Colorado and Slovakia was a surprise. The novel is long, perhaps overly so, but fans of psychological drama and of historical fiction will find that their interest is held. I certainly did, in spite of my distaste for the Countess.