ARE YOU READY TO ENTER THE HALF BURNT HOUSE? . . . The spine-tingling new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of Richard & Judy pick THE WHISPER MAN 'The Half Burnt House is Alex North at his best - a writer who can terrify you on one page and break your heart on the next' STEVE CAVANAGH 'One of those books that made me wish I'd written it. North wields suspense like a blade. Breath-taking and terrifying' HELEN FIELDS 'Dark, gripping, and twisty' CLARIE MCGOWAN 'Endlessly intriguing' NEW YORK TIMES ________ ...
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ARE YOU READY TO ENTER THE HALF BURNT HOUSE? . . . The spine-tingling new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of Richard & Judy pick THE WHISPER MAN 'The Half Burnt House is Alex North at his best - a writer who can terrify you on one page and break your heart on the next' STEVE CAVANAGH 'One of those books that made me wish I'd written it. North wields suspense like a blade. Breath-taking and terrifying' HELEN FIELDS 'Dark, gripping, and twisty' CLARIE MCGOWAN 'Endlessly intriguing' NEW YORK TIMES ____________ Katie Shaw always looked after her younger brother Chris - until she left him alone one carefree afternoon and he was savagely attacked. He hasn't spoken to her since. Now a mother, Katie vows not to repeat her mistakes. Carelessness cost her one family, and she won't let it destroy another. Then she receives a call from the police. They're investigating a particularly brutal murder, in a half-ruined house that once belonged to a notorious local serial killer. The case has thrown up many unsettling questions, but only one prime suspect: Chris. The detective wants Katie's help finding him, but she has only one thing on her mind: proving her brother's innocence, and finally making up for her negligence all those years ago. But soon it becomes clear that the killer isn't finished yet. Which means that even as she attempts to save her old family, Katie is placing her new one in deadly peril . . . ____________ 'North's poetic way with even the most grotesque of situations is always a joy. The Half Burnt House is his best yet. I love it' ALEX MARWOOD 'Thrilling, moving and utterly gripping; The Half Burnt House is a triumph' WILLIAM RYAN 'A masterfully creepy, atmospheric rush of a read that will linger with you long after you've finished the last page' NEIL BROADFOOT
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I really enjoyed Alex North's previous book, The Whisper Man and so I was excited to receive the ARC for The Half Burnt House. I did approach with a bit of caution though, as I didn't enjoy another book of his, The Shadow Friend as much - thinking that the simple premise had been over complicated by multiple POVs which led to a confusing read.
I think The Half Burnt House also suffered from the same problems as I had experienced with The Shadow Friend. There's a lot of character points of view throughout the chapters and some of them are kept vague on purpose. I struggled to keep in my head what was happening for which character in which timeline and what was relevant to the plot. I didn't really feel like I got to know any of the characters very well either which certainly didn't help to keep them all straight in my head.
The book has a paranormal aspect to it, with a character who can potentially see into the future and changing timelines, but no-where is this particularly explained and there isn't really a payoff for this either, so it just felt like a convenient plot device to explain away plot-holes rather than a proper sci-fi or horror element. I have a lot of questions that weren't really explained properly, and I don't feel like some elements were well explored.
Overall, The Half Burnt House was disappointing - unnecessarily confusing with characters I didn't particularly care for. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House - Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.