House of Skin (edition 2012)

Rating: 3.5 of 5

Slow build, patience required. The pace picked up around page 175, built steadily to climax, and ended strong. A couple good scares. No surprises though. I'd read another book by Janz.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS***

I wouldn't classify this as a "ghost" story. Annabel seemed more like an ancient evil being like a demon or deity as opposed to an evil human spirit. That's the vibe I picked up. ( )

When I picked up this book I had to just keep reading to find out what happens.Fast, surprising and scary! Hold on and don't read with the lights out! This is a great book, a must read! Hat's off to Jonathan!
I got this book from LibraryThing.com. ( )

I have three words to describe House of Skin: Creepy, Creepy, Creepy! I don't often read horror books, and I was sceptical when I began this one. My initial thought was that this book was not particularly scary. The more I read, the more I wanted to put the book down and the more I wanted to keep reading. It turned out to be fast-paced, exciting, and scary. House of Skin will make me rethink everything that goes bump in the night! ( )

"House of Skin" is an outstanding supernatural tale that's filled with murder, obsession, possession, sex, chilling plot twists, and outstanding writing. Author Jonathan Janz has set the bar high for his next work because this novel is so hard to put down.

The plot revolves around the cursed Carver family and their estate, Watermere. When Paul Carver inherits the estate from his not-so-dear departed uncle, Miles Carver, he leaves his life and girlfriend behind in Memphis and moves to Indiana. As Paul takes up residence at Watermere he begins to go through a number of life changes, the most important of which is meeting his gorgeous and strangely familiar neighbor, Julia Merrow. Paul, an aspiring author, soon finds his literary motivation from Watermere and the beautiful Julia. As he begins to find out more about his family's history, he soon realizes that he may be under the same "spell" that affected his uncle and other relatives and that Julia's past may be connected to that of his family.

The story really picks up momentum as a number of suspicious disappearances and murders begin to mount up near Watermere and in the neighboring community of Shadeland. Paul soon finds himself on the top of the list of suspects because of his family name. The more he works to convince the local sheriff of his innocence, the more he begins to realize who's really behind the murders.

Readers who enjoy the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Laymon, Bentley Little, and John Saul will really enjoy this book. In "House of Skin" (Janz' 2nd major work), Janz demonstrates a real maturity as a writer by creating a deftly written plot that will continually keeps readers guessing. The outcome is a real page-turner that will keep most readers up long into the night.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ( )