The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Spite House made the list of my most anticipated releases of 2023. Macmillan Audio offered me the audiobook for review and I was ready to dive in. And from the moment I started reading this book captured my attention.

The Spite House follows a family who is on the run. Vague details are given at first but the father, Eric Ross is traveling with his two girls and his wife isn't in the picture. He decides to take a job in a small town where an old woman with major influence is offering a large sum of money to people willing to live in the house and document mysterious activity. Despite the vagueness of the offer, Eric realizes that this money will allow him to settle down with his girls. He and his eldest daughter Dess have been doing dangerous odd jobs to make ends me and movie from city to city to remain undetected so this will give them  the chance at some stability.

There's not too much I can say about this book without spoiling it but this was a refreshing spin on the classic haunted house story. It did follow many different povs which normally is a deal breaker for me but I felt that each served it's intended purpose even if I wasn't really into that chapter.  Johnny Compton does a great job setting up the backstories for various characters. I enjoyed reading about the Ross family and their bond. At first they seem like a normal family but as the story unfolds you realize why the family was drawn to the Masson House in the first place. But the history of the town also plays a role in this book and I like how that was revealed slowly over time. 

If you like atmospheric writing then you'll enjoy this. Especially if you get the audiobook. The writing manages to keep the the spookiness and tension going throughout which keeps readers wondering what's next. While I did end up reading some of the middle physically so I wouldn't miss things, the narration was very well done.