Though this book was captivating. I was disturbed by how the womens were treated in this book. The MC Effie was such a doormat women. I hate such womens. Other than that the book was nice. I like the concept. I was hooked.

This is the 3rd Graham Masterton novel I've read and I've yet to 5-star the guy.Hopefully this is because I haven't read the best of him yet. Although a 2-star rating looks bleak, it does translate to It Was OK, and that's how I felt about it.The story had a great start to it, with a couple of gleefully horrific occurrences, and I thought I was in for a real treat here.It was an okay story, and a cool concept. My problem was character engagement. I really couldn't care less for any of them. Very...

The House That Jack Built goes beyond the haunted house horror trope, sure its pages are seeped in the blood of horror staples (ghost-like figures, sex, violence, cults, the supernatural) but it's the plot on the peripheral which gives this novel it's meaty feel, coupled with characters which are both deep and interesting.The House That Jack Built captures the readers attention and maintains it in a vice-like grip through to the murderous end. The long abandoned, secluded and notorious mansion t...

A dilapidated NY estate becomes the obsession of a NY attorney after he has a life-changing "accident". In pretty quick order, the builder of the estate, who disappeared in 1937 under mysterious circumstances, begins to possess the attorney, and his sadism, gambling and dark behavior follows.I thought the book was well written but was annoyed by a couple of scenes late in the book. An appraiser turns up with a fairly valuable piece of information that seemed odd to be in his possession. There wa...

This is the first time I've read anything by Graham Masterton, and I honestly wish it wasn't. The first half of the book was amazing. I loved it. The atmosphere was creepy, extremely creepy from start to finish, he captured the haunted house feel perfectly. At one point I had to put the book down, as it made me cringe that badly, and made me feel sick in the stomach. The bad part was, that I ended up with rather high expectations for the rest of the book, and was greatly disappointed. Why? Becau...

Interesting twist on a haunted house story by Masterton and also a fun and fast read. This starts off with a bang-- a hot-shot lawyer on the way to a business dinner gets mugged and one of his testicles crushed with a hammer. Some months later, the lawyer (Craig) and the main protagonist, his wife Effie, head out of NYC to the Hudson Valley to get away and try to restore their marriage.Craig, once proud and basically arrogant, now feels like less of a man, his confidence shattered. Effie keeps t...

This author is one of the most orginal and scary storytellers of our time - he can scare the pants off me!Back Cover Blurb:After Craig Bellman is horrifically attacked, he and his wife Effie leave New York for the peace of the country, hoping to rebuild their damaged relationship. However, when Craig insists on buying a derelict mansion on a mountainside - despite Effie's serious reservations - their problems are only just beginning.The house echoes with a terrible agonised sobbing, and Effie, t...

One of my favorite horror stories ever. Now here's a book that truly merits the title horror story. I stayed on this pretty much until I finished it because I just had to find out what happened. The scare goes on page after page and doesn't let the reader down.The story begins with Craig Bellman is hurrying off to join his partner at a restaurant where he & his law partner, along with a very important client, are celebrating a million dollar deal. He is in a taxi, and the the streets are gridloc...

I loved this book. Oftentimes a horror book will creep me out a little, and then weeks later, I'll forget all about it.This one was very different. I actually read it months ago but just forgot to add it to my list of books here. It had some very interesting theories about haunting and time that were very intriguing and had an almost sci-fi tone to it, which I love.Definitely a new favorite book.

This one had been on my bookshelf for a long time and I continued to skip it. Finally this month I decided to get through another Masterton (one of my favourite authors of the horror genre) and I wish I had read it long ago.If you are familiar with classic Masterton horror then this book will not surprise too much. If you like his old horror tales, it will most likely greatly entertain you and give you what you want. It has his style of familiar graphic violent scenes early on, before the tale j...

Of the Graham Masterton books I have read, this one drew me in and held my attention from beginning to end better than any of them. I love a good haunted house story, big creepy houses hold so many possibilities. The book starts out strong, we have a jerk named Craig who is a pretentious lawyer type who manages to get himself into some fairly gory trouble. Flash forward to his loving wife taking him on a trip to help him "sort himself out." There they stumble across Valhalla, the monstrous home

4 stars.I really enjoyed this. Old style horrors are definitely a favourite genre for me and this one reminded me of The Shining. Different stories yes, but the vibes I got were similar. If you liked Stephen King's The Shinning, you will like this. In my opinion.One part of the story held such a good surprise. The whole deal with the library floor and why it was built the way it was - absolutely fantastic when the truth came out about it. Those who have read this will understand.While this wasn'...

Ive read this book 6 times and i love it!!! its one of them books which is easy to read, and realllly easy to let the mind flow with the story line. i LOVED it. im normally a richard Laymon fan but Graham masterton has wrote an amazing book here. creepy in places, sexual in others but gripping all the way through. Loved it.

Another great book by one of my favorite Paranormal-horror Authors, Graham Masterton. I decided I wanted to read this for spook season because I love to read some creepy books this time of year. I knew that I would not be disappointed by this one at all.In this book you have Craig Bellerman who stumbled across an old 1930's house named Vallhalla and he was determined to make it his, claiming the house was him. His wife Effie was discovering some pretty odd things going on in this house and she d...

Let me start off by saying how much I love Graham Masterton's writing style. It is his prose that kept me reading it even after I became disgusted with the material. Some of the passages are so well-written that I re-read them a few times just for the pleasure of it. I may give one of his other books another try. The reason I'm giving this such a low rating is how degrading to women that it was. I could have stood it if it was just the man Craig's thoughts as he's supposed to be possessed by th

After the Harrow books by Douglas Clegg and this, The House That Jack Built by Graham Masterton, remind me never to invest in real estate near the Hudson river. Jeez.Yes, it's haunted house time again on my recent run of Leisure published haunted howlers. The last one I read was The Reckoning, by Sarah Pinborough. Whereas that haunted abode was a modest house in an English village, Jack's House is on a much grander scale. But do bigger houses produce bigger scares? Read on.Spot the lyric time? O...

Graham Masterton wined, dined, and romanced me with his gory, viscerally rich ‘The Devil in Grey.’ Here he makes the past cross the lines with the modern again, this time, as before, dealing with devilish spirits up to no good.The plot is traditional type of ghost story, with possession, unexplained deaths, haunted houses, and mysterious ‘drawings’ to places and people of the characters. Sure, there’s nothing really new here, but it’s fun anyway.Pacing doesn’t hurt the book, either. Spooks and c...

A vicious mugging proves difficult for successful lawyer Craig Bellman to recover from until he discovers an abandoned mansion while on holiday with his wife. Valhalla was built by a notorious playboy gambler who disappeared in the 1930s. Bellman is entranced by the old house, but of course there is more to it than meets the eye.Masterton is an accomplished writer in a number of genres, which in my opinion makes him a better horror writer as his novels are good stories with a horror theme rather...

Great story, really creepy but by the end of this story I didn't like any characters. Couldn't stand the people. The husband was a cheating jerk and got what he deserved in the first part of the book and later. The wife was tstl, she would set women back a long way with how she thought. Yikes. The 4 stars are for the excellent writing and the creepy factor. Characters sucked, in more ways than one.;-)I do recommend this book for people who love a good horror read. Just don't expect to feel attac...

This is one of the first books I ever read...I was about 15 years old when I read it & I was completely blown away...years later, it still one of my all time favourite books! brilliant brilliant brilliant! ive read it about 6 times since & I enjoy it every time. just keeps you hooked on every page!! Love a good horror - Dont find many that are this easy to get into without being too dragged out & twisted. LOVED this one! Need to find a copy of this golden oldy!