REVIEW: Nightmare House

Nightmare House
Author: Douglas Clegg

Ethan inheirits his grandfather's house, Harrow House. Returning to the strange home after years away, he remembers childhood visits there. He meets the household servants and tries to settle into his new life. But, Harrow House holds some very dark secrets.....family secrets so terrible that nobody entering the house is ever quite the same again.

I really, really, really wanted to enjoy this book.....I love spooky tales and ghost stories and the Harrow House series sounded just like what I enjoy. But.....I listened to the audiobook version of the story. And.....to be honest, I couldn't stand the narrator. Michael Taylor has a very deep, booming male voice, and to me it just didn't fit the nature of this book at all. When Taylor attempted to do female voices or elderly male voices, his tone was just awkward and, for me, annoying. It really put a damper on my enjoyment of this book. Taylor's voice might fit a western story, a regular children's story, or maybe a comedic type book....but, in my opinion, it was not a good choice for a horror or suspense novel. I finished listening.....but couldn't fully immerse in the story because I just hated his voice and narration style. This happens sometimes with audiobooks.....it doesn't mean he is a bad narrator. His style, in this case, just isn't for me. Others might have a different opinion and love it.

The story itself seemed rambling and not all that scary or suspenseful. 

All of the audiobooks for the Harrow House series are narrated by Michael Taylor. So, I will be leaving this series after finishing book 1. Just not for me.