I chose Night Strangers
by Chris Bohjalian as my Halloween week book, and it more than fulfilled my
expectations of a spooky, suspenseful read! This novel contains both supernatural and real-life scary
elements, combining a ghost story and a psychological thriller.
Chip and Emily Linton move their family from Philadelphia to
rural New Hampshire in an attempt to start over after Chip, an airline pilot,
survives a horrifying plane crash on Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike his hero Sully Sullenberger,
though, Chip is left to live with the deaths of 39 of his passengers. With their twin 10-year old girls, Chip
and Emily hope to make a fresh start in New Hampshire and begin by buying an
old Victorian house on a hill near a small town.
While Emily begins working with a new, much smaller law
practice in a nearby town, Chip spends much of his time working on the old
house and trying to recover from PTSD.
He discovers a strange door down in the dirt-floored basement, sealed
shut with 39 6-inch long carriage bolts.
Yes, exactly 39. The
coincidence is not lost on Chip, and he becomes a bit obsessed with the
mysterious door and questions of who would lock it so completely…and why.
The town welcomes the family warmly, especially the twins,
but Emily has some concerns about the close-knit group of women who call
themselves herbalists and seem so interested in their girls. She is also worried about her husband,
who seems to be getting worse instead of better. Is he losing his grip on reality? Is he dangerous?
From that auspicious – and suspicious – start, Bohjalian
builds the suspense. This novel is
completely unlike any of his others that I have read. It is a true ghost story but also a thriller. I found myself shouting at the pages,
like you do (well, like I do) with a
taut horror movie; in fact, the classic, “No, don’t go in the basement!” worked
quite well in this case. I
thoroughly enjoyed reading it, especially during Halloween week, though I ended
up staying up much too late most nights and having disturbing dreams!
This one was a bit of a departure for Bohjalian, but it was enjoyable (not a favorite though).
ReplyDeleteI liked this book quite a bit...spooky good ;)
ReplyDeleteI liked this one too, but there were also parts I really didn't care for. I found it a little unbelievable that the parents (or really the mother in this case) would let the girls around strangers so much - especially at such a young age. And the ending ... not sure I'm a fan of how it ended. But I did love the writing, and would love to read more from Bohjalian.
ReplyDeletei haven't read this one but it sounds perfect for Halloween week! Thanks for sharing with #ThrowbackThursdaylinkup. I bought another Bohjalian book set in Armenia for our Travel the World in Books challenge but I have not read it yet.
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