The Haunting of Rookward House
By: Darcy Coates
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Rating:

Darcy Coates is no stranger to tales of haunted houses where the ghosts are the stars of the show. The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates is no exception. This is a tale of anger, of feeling trapped and alienated, and an obsession so powerful that even death can’t stop it.

Guy is down on his luck. He has anger management issues, and his former wife and child have left him. Now, he lives with his mother, a recluse excluded by the people he once called neighbors and friends. Then, he finds a deed to an old home in his mother’s attic, a home she claims to know nothing about. But his grand plan to spruce up the house and sell it doesn’t quite go as planned. Something dark happened here in 1965, and the ghosts of the past down seem to want to stay dead…

The Haunting of Rookward House is a tale of parallel stories, that of Guy and his troubles and the story of Amy, the woman obsessed with a deceased family member of Guy’s who doesn’t seem to realize that Guy isn’t the man she thinks he is…or that she’s even dead at all.

Amy’s story of compulsive obsession and stalking that extends beyond the grave is truly chilling. This is where the tale shines the brightest. Amy is a frightening antagonist. She’s cunning, cruel, driven, and most of all, unhealthily obsessive. It isn’t necessarily the ghostly activities that occur at Rookward House that make this a scary book. Amy herself is what makes the tale truly chilling and where the story shines the brightest.

Her past with Guy’s ancestor is frightening enough—something I won’t go too far into in order to avoid spoilers. But her past isn’t the only thing that makes her frightening. Even though she’s dead, she’s certainly not gone, and Guy’s resemblance of Amy’s former target means that he’s her new target. She can manipulate the reality behind her, and is all too corporeal for Guy’s liking.

Our protagonist Guy isn’t quite as interesting, on the other hand. He admits outright that he has anger management issues that have caused in dire, life-changing circumstances. However, Guy tells us this more than shows us. We’re told of his past, but not really shown it. We’re told his neighbors, former friends, and even family members won’t talk to him, but we’re never shown it. This makes Guy seem whiny and self-centered rather than truly troubled and in a very dark, lonely place in life, distancing him from the reader.

This novel has the potential to be utterly terrifying and page-turning, a quality that Coates’ other novels all share. However, The Haunting of Rookward House falls a little short in this regard. His mother feels more like a caricature of a supportive mother instead of a real person. She’s flighty but loves her son unconditionally, supposedly forgetful but doesn’t seem to want to discuss Rookward House too much. Throughout the entire novel, it feels as if she’s just about to open up and discuss her family’s past, the house itself, why it’s been left to rot, and why no one has ever sold it despite the circumstances. Yet, she never says a thing.

Few townspeople make an appearance, and fewer discuss Rookward House. Instead of working as intended—making the home feel more secluded, the mystery deeper and all the more intriguing—it merely gives the impression that the world is unlived in and the home’s dark history completely forgotten and uninteresting.

Yet, the home’s past is dark and intriguing, compelling both the reader and Guy to learn more. Better yet are the chapters set in 1965. Alongside Amy, these are the true highlights of the tale. So good are they, that I wished more of the tale was told from that viewpoint. A companion novel set in that time period wouldn’t be amiss.

In all, The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates is an intriguing tale of obsession that surpasses death itself. Ghosts past and present are after Guy and other visitors to Rookward House. This is a good addition to Halloween-themed TBRs and may be of interest to readers to love themes of obsession, isolations, and ghosts.