Welcome to Litsy!

This was my first from @Billypar #ALSpine list and it was a great first read of 2025. I won‘t say much about it. Knowing less going in is more. Really atmospheric modern gothic psychological thriller. Foreboding and tension. The story unfurls in a masterful way. At halfway through I couldn‘t put it down. This book is about a lot of interesting things and makes you think but that would give some things away. Check Vinny‘s great review for more!

Having a very peaceful 1st day of the year with my first #AuldLangSpine book of the year.

I‘ve started this one. Nothing has really happened yet , but I feel very uneasy… so far so good 👍🏻

Eric Loesch, a private man with a shadowy past, returns to his childhood home in rural NY where he purchases and renovates a derelict house with steely determination. The adjacent woods seem to beckon him and he discovers a gothic castle at the centre of his land that he appears not to own.
This intriguing and strange narrative evokes the question of how much is real or representative of Eric‘s state of mind.

📸 Kyoto, Japan

The best way I can describe this is part gothic thriller - part early 2000s U.S. military critique, as strange as that combo sounds. Eric Loesch, a former military officer, returns to his hometown to purchase a large plot of wooded land with a decrepit old house that he plans to restore, and he responds to questions from curious town residents with hostility and paranoia. Naturally, strange events linked to his past start occurring... 👇

I thought this was clever. Much of the book was done in different styles. That is, much of the book was told directly from the author to the reader, breaking the “fourth wall". I also thought the atmosphere was done well – I definitely pictured the ‘70s hunting lodge: all brown wood paneling with hunted animal heads on the walls and such. But, I also found it quite “literary” and a bit dry. I certainly didn‘t care about the people. Cont in comnts

Unfortunately, I had to bail on this arc, mainly due to the 'stage directions'/prompts on reading and interpreting the story, which I found incredibly irritating.

#NetGalleyGroup #NGGFallFiction

This book took a minute for me to get into it but when I did boy did I. I liked it a whole lot more than I expected. This was definitely not a traditional murder mystery and the author included the reader in the mystery and I liked that. However saying that, I am mad at this book. This book is living rent free in my head. I will definitely be looking for more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Happy Pub Day

Dann McDorman