J.R. Erickson

Inspired by a haunting true story...When Rowan and her family move into the 1800s home nestled in the woods on a bluff near Lake Michigan, she's looking forward to a summer reprieve. However, she soon discovers that Helme House harbors dark secrets including people who have vanished from the house and never been found. As Rowan digs into the history of Helme House a series of troubling experiences soon become deadly.
Rowan has had a really bad year. She has postpartum depression as well as show more dealing with the death of her beloved father.

I really wanted to call her out on this, but she went ahead and agreed with Garrett, her husband, that a summer in an old, secluded house on Lake Michigan where the previous owner disappeared is just the cure for all her troubles. At this point I was almost sure that she must have had "rocks in her head", or maybe too much to drink and wasn't thinking straight. Can anyone but me hear the music start up and telling you that this is anything BUT a good idea?

Rowan had barely got in the door unlocked before she begins to smell strange smells, hearing things that have no visible source, and of course seeing things that only she can see. Of course, we knew that her husband wouldn't smell, hear, or see anything out of the ordinary. She wonders if maybe she's going crazy.

This book had a creepy setting and an overly realistic feeling. Then I learned that it should have these feelings since it was inspired by a true story...an event that had happened. In 1961 there was an actual disappearance in Massachusetts, making this not only a haunted house story but also an actual cold-case mystery based on the disappearance of a real woman those many years ago. Finding this out gave the entire story an entirely different feeling. I felt sympathy for the actual living, hopeful still breathing, woman that provided the essence for the story...but I really wanted Rowan and her husband to leave this house and lock the door...or better yet just burn the whole cursed thing to the ground. If you like cold-case mysteries with a bit of the supernatural entwined, you will love meeting Rowan. show less

I'm always worried about reading longer books because if they lose my attention for a few chapters then I'll just never pick up the book again, but this book had consistent intrigue. The way the timelines ended up weaved together, the fear of what may happen to certain characters because I genuinely cared about them, it was refreshing to stumble across a book like this.

It might also be because Hattie reminded me of Nell Crain so I saw Victoria Pedretti whenever I read a scene with her but show more that's fine too. show less

Inspired by a chilling true story...It's the day of his ex-wife's wedding when Dan makes the winding mountain journey to a remote cabin for an escape from the life that another man has stepped into. Less than 48 hours into his reprieve, the forest tranquility is shattered when he looks through a telescope and witnesses the violent abduction of a young woman. Dan springs into action, but there's no evidence of an abduction nor reports of a missing woman. That is, until Dan sees the missing show more person's poster for Ivy Trent. He's sure it's the woman he saw get kidnapped just days before. There's only one problem. Ivy disappeared ten years ago.
The story follows Dan, a detective whose life has been turned upside down by his own actions. He decides to spend some time in his brother's cabin and it's there; while looking through a telescope, that he sees a young woman being abducted while sunbathing. There's no evidence whatsoever of what he knows that he had witnessed, and to further make things creepy...he finds out the woman he knows he saw had disappeared 10 years ago.

I had great hopes for this book. I do have to say that it was intriguing to say the least. I was really curious to see how the author would blend the paranormal part with the thriller element in the story. It is said in several places that is based on a true crime event. This story itself is fiction, but I liked the fact that the author remained respectful of the victim, since her character is based on an actually real person.

I found the book easy to read but I was a bit disappointed. I expected the paranormal part of the book to play more of a major role than it did. The blurb said that the "reader would want to read with lights on". I read a lot of "ghosty stuff" so I didn't find it all that creepy, but anyone that doesn't read a lot of "ghosty stuff" probably would....and the ghost only appears a few times. I thought that the only chilling thing about it was the fact that's it's based on an actual real-life event.

The title, "Dark River Inn", may also be a bit misleading since we hardly spent any time there. That also seemed to me to have been a missed opportunity for a paranormal/horror/ thriller story. A creepy, haunted inn? What ghost story or horror enthusiast wouldn't like that? But the story didn't take place there, even though this was supposed to be a significant location. I was also bothered by the revelation of who had killed Ivy...the girl who disappeared in the book. It was so predictable and I guessed it right off when the whole "affair thing" was discovered. There was some romance, but I didn't really see the need for it as it seemed to offer nothing to the overall story. Things would've worked out without Dan and Cass ever developing that type of a relationship.

Three stars will be my final rating because even though I like the author's writing and it was an easy read; the story just lacked something. It needed more suspense, more chilling, creepy moments that would make the hair on the back of the neck rise, a creepier vibe in general. show less

Mystery lovers will have a great time with this book...horror enthusiast may find it a bit too mild depending on how scared you want to be. Kids are coming up missing. There is a rumored monster in the woods and a creepy abandoned funeral home, which should give anybody a few chills. A schoolteacher and three bullied teens start to try to figure some things out. The ending will surprise you and you more than likely will spend most of the book thinking you know what's happening but I'm show more betting you are going to be SOOOO wrong. I did think that one of the events that happened was unnecessary to the story...but hey...I didn't write the book.... but I really enjoyed every single goosebump and I will continue the series. show less