Review originally published at: http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookreviews/book-review-the-house-of-the-long-shadows-by-ambrose-ibsen/

Kevin Taylor’s main goal is landing a job at a TV station, and for that he decided to take the challenge of renovating an old house in only thirty days for his internet video channel. The fact that the old house is in a terrible state does not deter Kevin from pursuing his goals, but maybe the strange presence there will.

Ibsen is presenting another house with an evil presence. The premises were interesting and the main character relatable. It was easy to connect to him and understand his motivations. The mention of social media, followers, and comments made the book fresh and current, and this will appeal to any young (and not so young) reader.

The book was well written, as all Ibsen’s books, but I found it a bit slow and repetitive for the first two thirds. I think this impression was also due to the fact that we are dealing with only one character, and we are missing some characters dynamics. Towards the end it seems the book starts to pick up some rhythm, and it coincides with more characters interacting with Kevin. The ending was predictable but terrifying nonetheless.

Joe Hempel delivered a masterful narration, trapping me in the story. There were not a lot of different characters in this audiobook, but the few present were very well interpreted. Hempel did a really good job transmitting Kevin’s emotions in a palpable way. The audio production was perfect.

I received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.