This house is bad for men, for boys. They all die here. Almost every single one. And the women go mad. Did you know that?” [loc. 3219]
Myron and Margot Spielman, with their teenaged son Hunter, move from Boston to an historic mansion that's rumoured to be haunted. Rawlingswood has a history of murder, suicide and ruin: its walls and closets are graffiti'd with words and phrases like 'welcome to hell house', 'murder' and 'dead girl'. There are mysterious sounds, lights that switch themselves on, a sense of something watching ... The Spielmans have their own secrets, from a malpractice suit against Myron to the 'hot yoga' videos Margot produces: and all three are haunted by the memory of Allison, Hunter's sister, who died young.
The house's reputation is not undeserved. The narrative switches between the Spielmans and four families who previously lived in the house - the Rawlings family, who built the house, from 1922 to 1931, the Bells between 1936 and 1972, the Klussmans from 1972 to 1990, and the Martins from 1990 to 2016. In each case, there's a tragedy; in each case, we slowly begin to understand that it's not what it seems. But there's an ancient horror here that dates back to before the first brick was laid ...
The blurb, beginning 'for fans of The Haunting of Hill House', lured me in, but to be honest I found this rather disappointing and nothing like as scary as Shirley Jackson's novel. Because I was expecting (and hoping for) supernatural horror, I didn't find the story especially satisfying: indeed, it was sad rather than unnerving. A positive ending, though.
Still thinking about the title. Is it 'no one is at home' or 'this is not anyone's home'? Either interpretation shifts the ambience of the book.
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