Cherie Priest

This is a book about a haunted house.
The person who lived here before me died.
A lot of the evil stuff in the book happens in a small bathroom with pink tiles and no ventilation, with water that takes awhile to heat up and quickly goes cold.
This describes my bathroom, too.
You know what else could have been true in the book, that is true where I live?
Things go bump in the night enough to make people not want to -stay- the night. There is also a loud, incessant, leak in the bathroom somewhere. show more If the book had -those- details, I would probably be hammering out a lease-breaking document of some kind.
So, my place's natural setting added to the creepiness of the book.

Midway through the book, I was so excited about how well-written and scary it was, in a good way, that I couldn't -wait- to read the book again. Ten pages later, I was on the brink of pissing myself, my heart was in my throat, I vaguely remembered to breathe and my hands were tense. My brain was fried with fear and I kept turning pages. I love scary, well-written books, and this author DID AMAZING.

I identified the most with the ghosts in the story. I felt equally bad for and terrified of them. The ending of the book was MARVELOUS because I felt like I understood how Abigail got to that point, and it makes me so happy when characters like Abigail aren't defeated. Partially because it's predictable and boring, and partially because the way some authors do it tells me "I never cared about the character you most identified with in the first place, and anyone who identifies with said character should suffer immensely." There's also a sense of "The characters were never in any real danger anyway." That last one makes for a bland book. So, the author deftly avoided all that and I am pleased. show less

A very fun modern and creepy take on Lizzie Borden.

Ever since I watched the movie and the netflix series I have a sort of fascination with the character and was really glad to find a book by my beloved Cherie Priest, featuring her.

Loved the splatter, the demons, the anguish, the queerness, the lovecraftian vibes. I don't think a book could ever be more tailored to my likes -women writen with a feminist pen, splatter, creepy old houses, eldrich abominations, queer love, a plot. It has show more everything, while managing to stay true to some of the historical facts about the Borden sisters.

It is better than its sequel and really worth reading for any fans of the genre. show less

Ronnie Mitchell is a woman looking for a fresh start. She received an unexpected inheritance, so to start on this fresh start she buys a decaying mansion without ever having actually laid eyes on it. She doesn't know anything about her new home or especially about it's history...She'll soon learn. One important thing that she doesn't know is that her new home comes with a murderous reputation and several vengeful spirits who have been locked in eternal conflict since the 1930s.
The house was show more once home to silent film star Venita Rost, whose mysterious death sent her husband Oscar to the gallows and drove detective Bartholomew Sloan to suicide—all three now trapped within the mansion’s walls, each carrying their own version of a tragedy that destroyed them all.

I have always loved a good, haunted house story. They are my "guilty pleasures". Once in a while, I find a little bonus; an author that tries something "different" and Cherie Priest’s It Was Her House First perfectly fits this category.

The premise with this story is simple enough: our present-day Ronnie buys a dilapidated old mansion in west Seattle at auction, sight unseen mind you... and before even handing over the keys, the agent just has to comment on how much he hates the creepy old place that has been the scene of multiple deaths...so surely must be haunted. The prime suspect number one for any haunting of the mansion is its former owner...the star of the silent film era, Venita Rost. Others might include Bartholemew Sloan, a famous sleuth, and Hugh Crawford who has the honor of being the most recent previous owner who just melted into the floor. I' couldn't make that up! He just melted into the floor...zilch...gone.

Ronnie arrives equipped with prior experience and knowledge of restoration and her best friend Kate, who was also her "not-quite sister-in-law". Unperturbed by the threat of specters, Ronnie is actually hoping for some "ghostly company" as she wrestles with her guilt and grief following her brother’s tragic death. What she hadn’t bargained on were threats from the "world of the living"...those that are intent on finding and securing by any means possible, something that was left behind in the crumbling mansion long ago.

It Was Her House First deals with the themes of mental illness.... the occult...grief and guilt...responsibility and regret...and ultimately, acceptance. Ronnie’s story is reflected in Sloan, who holds himself responsible for the untimely death of Venita’s daughter. Venita’s story also echoes with Ronnie’s as a woman treated, by those around her, as both fragile and "mad".

What’s different about this story is Ronnie’s approach to her new situation. Instead of fighting to try an eradicate the ghosts, she tries to work with them, to co-exist and to restore the house together for all their sakes. I really liked this non-standard approach to the "otherness" around us; to share our spaces with that which is "different" but still present in our lives.

Cherie Priest’s writing is easy to read and it's so very compelling. Ronnie is relatable, which makes the reader want to keep turning those pages. There are slow build-ups and explorations before the final "showdown". Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable ghost story with lots of heart and fantastic twists. Any "ghost story junkie" like myself, will really like it...just hope the lights stay on:) show less

Estranged childhood friends Leo and Melissa get a message from their third childhood friend Simon that his beloved grandmother has died, allegedly scared to death by something she saw on the beach. By the time they make it from their urban adult lives back to remote Marrowstone Island where Simon and his grandmother lived, Simon is nowhere to be found. They do find the thing that scared his grandmother to death - an entire (mostly) intact house has washed up on the shore in their backyard. show more Their hunt for the origin of the ‘housewreck’ and the fate of their friend leads them to an archive, a creepy hidden basement, a cemetery, and the truth about Simon’s grandmother. How did a whole house wash out to sea 70 years ago, and what does it mean that it’s come back?

A very spooky haunted house/eldritch horror story. It feels like it could be a sequel to Maplecroft/Chapelwood, just a century later and on the other side of the country. Melissa and Leo’s friendship feels very real and specific - they used to be close, somewhat against their will, and haven’t talked in years but are still connected by their unrequited love for Simon. They worked together really well, each gaining motivation from the confidence they believe the other to have, not realizing they’re both equally lonely and scared. Priest’s writing is funny, as always, even while the plot itself is very not-funny. There’s no happy ending here, but there is revenge. show less