You should not read this book if you are looking for a feel-good story with a happy ending. Some of what you will read about in the book is truly awful.

I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started the book. On the face of it, it is a horrible story, and it's very hard to read in parts. But it is very well written, and the story is compelling. I read the book quickly over just a few days. The characters are unforgettable. A lot of the time, I will quickly forget the plot of a book soon after I get into my next read. I will not have trouble remember what this book was about years from now.

It reminds me of a couple of other books I've read in past couple of years

The Last Thing To Burn, by Will Dean, also deal with a subject that is grim and disturbing. It also has a female protagonist who is our first-person narrator who is compelling, and who keeps you willing to engage with her difficult story.

The book also owes a major debt to We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson. It also had a damaged first-person narrator, whom we initially feel compassion for and whom we are rooting for, but as the book progresses, we start to wonder whether she is dangerous. Also, the townspeople torment her and keep their distance in both books. And the house is a major part of both books, in typical Gothic fashion. ( )