Single mom Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so when she’s offered a job cleaning for revered horror director Javier Castillo, she leaps at the chance. His forbidding Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his decades-long career making films that thrilled audiences and dominated the box office—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, so Harry tries to clean the house immaculately and keep her head down—she needs the money from this job to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of keeping her job, but she soon finds that the house—and her enigmatic boss—have secrets she can’t ignore…

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry. The House that Horror Built was published by Titan Books on 14th May 2024 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of The House that Horror Built but that has in no way influenced my review.

Before I go any further with this review there’s something I need to tell you. If you’ve been visiting the blog over the last couple of months you will be aware that I’ve been on a bit of an unplanned, six-month hiatus following surgery. Unplanned because all of a sudden my blogging mojo hit the floor. I was reading lots of brilliant books, I just wasn’t reviewing anything. And then, after a while, my reading mojo took a hit too. So this book, The House that Horror Built, I actually read in May 2024. I do remember the book well and I did take notes but this review, and many others you’ll see over the next few months, will be A LOT shorter than my usual, going-on-for-days (🤭) reviews! A short review is better than no review at all, am I right?!

I have wanted to read a book by Christina Henry for a while now. I have a couple of her earlier releases on the TBR but there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything read! So when I saw The House that Horror Built was available for early review, I jumped at the chance to read it (ARCs always get priority above my own books). The plot of this one grabbed my attention from the get-go and I was looking forward to it. I love anything to do with horror movies (don’t watch them because I’m a chicken but oh boy, do I love horror movies to feature in the books I read!!!).

Overall, I did enjoy the time I spent with The House that Horror Built and I would definitely read more by Christina Henry, without a shadow of a doubt. However, something wasn’t quite right for me. Perhaps my expectations were too high and that influenced my feelings more than it should have. I’m sure this happens to all reviewers at some point, to some degree. Any reader who tells you otherwise isn’t, I don’t feel, being entirely honest with themselves. I enjoyed the premise, I enjoyed the set-up, I thought Gabe – Harry’s son – was a good character. I liked the overall gothic feel and the haunted, possessed house vibe the setting had going on. I also liked how the tension built throughout the story. I was just left feeling a little…disappointed? And I couldn’t shake that feeling. However, I am looking forward to more from this author. And I do feel I am in the minority on this one.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The House that Horror Built. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry was published in the UK by Titan Books on 14th May 2024 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Christina Henry is a horror and dark fantasy author whose works include GOOD GIRLS DON’T DIE, HORSEMAN, NEAR THE BONE, THE GHOST TREE, LOOKING GLASS, THE GIRL IN RED, THE MERMAID, LOST BOY, RED QUEEN, ALICE, and the seven book urban fantasy BLACK WINGS series.

Her short stories have been featured in the anthologies ELEMENTAL FORCES, CURSED, TWICE CURSED, GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE and KICKING IT.

She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.