Thriller Thursday Reviews: The House That Horror Built & The Swimmer

Happy Thriller Thursday! Sharon here with a couple of great books to read for spooky season.  🙂   This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Christina Henry’s, The House That Horror Built and Loreth Ann White’s, The Swimmer.   I hope everyone is getting some great reading in and if you have any recommendations for spooky season let me know. I love finding new authors.  😀

Author: Christina Henry

Publication Date: May 14, 2024

Publisher: Berkley

I love Christina Henry, so I was very excited to read her latest book, The House That Horror Built. I am happy that I waited for spooky season to read this, as this book was perfect reading for this time of year.

Harry Adams is a single mother to fourteen-year-old Gabe. Harry loves horror movies and books, so no surprise that she takes a job cleaning the house of award-winning horror director Javier Castillo. His Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled with props and costumes from not only his movies, but other horror movies as well. Javier lives as a recluse after a family tragedy five years ago. Harry keeps her head down and does her job, even though she swears she hears banging and voices coming from a locked room and is sure one of the props is moving and watching her. After being evicted from her apartment, Harry reluctantly moves with Gabe into Bright Horses with Javier, who has taken an instant liking to Gabe. But Harry soon realizes that moving in was a bad decision and she needs to get her and Gabe out of there before it is too late.  Javier is hiding secrets that put Harry and Gabe’s life in jeopardy.

OMG this book was so creepy and gave me the chills. As you know I also love horror, so I was instantly hooked. My first thought when I read the synopsis was, if my favorite horror director needed someone to clean their house, sign me up!  LOL!  But, If I started hearing noises coming from a locked room and the props started moving, I so would have been out of there. I have seen enough horror movies to know, that is not a good combination.

I love how Henry incorporated so many of my favorite horror movies into the story. There were so many mentions of my favorites, I would have loved to tour this house and see all the props. I also think Henry did a great job of creating Javier Castillo and bringing him to life. Being a horror director, he came across as odd and a bit quirky.

I really liked Harry and thought she was also a well-developed character, as well as her son Gabe. Harry does everything she can to give Gabe a good life. She has gone without things, just so he could have what he needs. She was a great mother. She instilled her love of horror in Gabe, so it was fun watching him in fan mode when he met Javier and toured the house.

I kind of figured out what Javier’s secret was, but there was a twist at the end I so did not see coming.

My only issue with this book is that I wish the end had more to it. It ended abruptly and I think there should have been at least one more chapter to explain things and tie everything up.  But all in all, I loved this book and if you are looking for a book to read this spooky season, I definitely recommend The House That Horror Built.  4 stars

Author: Loreth Anne White

Publication Date: September 10, 2024

Publisher: Montlake

Loreth Ann White’s newest story, The Swimmer, is another winner.  This book had lots of twists and turns, characters I loved and characters I hated, as well as a few tearjerker moments.

Chloe Cooper has always been socially awkward. She is forty years old and for her whole life her mother has instilled in her to never draw attention to herself, and to trust her instincts. If something seems off, then it probably is.  Chloe spends her days caring for her ailing mother, as well as being a dog walker and bartender.  Chloe is also a people watcher. When new neighbors, Jemma and Adam Spengler, move in next door, Chloe is instantly drawn to watching them. One rainy morning while Chloe is walking her mother’s dog, she witnesses a swimmer get hit and killed by a jet ski. Chloe is sure that it was Adam on the jet ski and against her better judgement she calls the police and reports what she saw. In doing so, Chloe has put herself in the Spengler’s path. The Spengler’s are not the happy, carefree couple they portray to be, they are harboring secrets that has put Chloe’s life in danger.

The first part of the book is broken up into chapters labeled, The Hit-and-Run, and After-The-Hit-and-Run. The second part of the book is broken up into chapters labeled, Before the Murders and After the Murders.  And we also get chapters throughout the book from a true crime podcast called, It’s Criminal: The Chloe Cooper Story. I loved how Loreth Anne White created the story this way. It created so much suspense and mystery with lots of twists and turns added in. I found myself caught off guard so many times while I was reading.

I loved Chloe and had so much sympathy for her. I did find myself tearing up a few times while reading.  Being so socially awkward, Chloe did not always make the right decisions, and I found myself thinking “No Chloe don’t.” Especially when it came to Jemma. Chloe so wanted them to be friends and I hated how Jemma used that against Chloe. White did a great job in creating Chloe and having her jump off the pages.

White also did a great job in creating the other characters as well, especially Jemma and Adam. OMG! I loathed them both. LOL!

I really cannot say what happens in the story because I think it is best to go in blind and have the twists and turns blow your mind like they did mine.  If you are a Loreth Anne White fan, I recommend The Swimmer, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  4 stars