(Tune in to my full podcast review of Gillespie House here.)

Here I am, with another Darcy Coates book, sitting down to write yet another review where I just... don't quite know what to say.

Did I like the book? Yes. Was it objectively well written, following a spectacular storyline? Well, kind of.

I am a very subjective book rater, meaning that when I like (or dislike) a story, I figure it is for reasons all my own (how I interpret the book), and not because the book is definitively good or bad. I think that is a good way to describe why I am giving Gillespie House four out of five stars.

There wasn't much mystery for me, as those parts were pretty quashed by the spoiler-filled synopsis on the back cover. I also just guessed key plot points a lot more quickly than they were revealed in the story. I don't know if the reader was meant to do this, but I read it more as solely a horror story than a mystery, even though it was perhaps meant to be both.

On the other hand, I enjoy Coates' simple but effective writing style. She isn't overly poetic. She is straightforward, and for this genre, I think that style works to her advantage. While horror can be made scarier and more gruesome with fanciful language, it can be just as bone-chilling in plain language, when the characters and plot are effective enough (as they are here).

Another thing I particularly enjoy about Coates' stories are that she always creates a haunting, vivid setting. That is a factor I often see overlooked in literature, but Gillespie House, along with her other stories, perfectly set up the creepy feeling I look for when starting a horror story.

Note: If you are not a fan of characters who talk out loud to themselves, this is not the book for you. It didn't bother me, but it was quite noticeable and I know that can be a pet peeve for some.

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