Welcome to my review of The Invited by Jennifer McMahon!
Summary
A married couple, Helen and Nate, inherit a small fortune when a family member passes away. They decide it’s time to quit their teaching jobs and build their dream home on 44 acres of rural land.
But when Helen finds out about the property’s dark and violent past, she becomes obsessed with finding more information, specifically Hattie Breckenridge. Helen gathers materials for their dream home, each one connected to Hattie and her descendant’s tragic lives and deaths. Thus, Helen creates a haunted house. But Hattie’s descendants aren’t done telling their stories.
Review
If you’re looking for a quick recommendation, yes, I would definitely recommend this book!
This is the second book I’ve read by McMahon, and although I didn’t think it was as good as The Winter People, it was still good enough to rate it four stars. If you enjoy paranormal horror rather than body horror, this is the book for you. McMahon does a wonderful job of conjuring a picture of Hattie’s ghost in the reader’s mind. Even I was a little scared of her, and I was always worried Helen would see her white figure in the bare bones of the structure of her house.
I think she also does a great job switching from past to present, much like she did in The Winter People. Not only does the reader find out what happened to Hattie and her descendants, but Helen also solves a mystery in the present involving one of Hattie’s descendants.
The only problem I had with this book was the pacing. It felt a bit slow at times, and I had a hard time picking it back up again. I didn’t often find myself needing to stay up late to finish the next chapter or thinking about it when I wasn’t busy with something else. But it was still one of the better horror books I’ve read.
The concept of building a haunted house is really interesting. I think that’s what caught my interest. That and the fact that it was written by McMahon. Overall, I would recommend this book to a busy mom. Although, if you haven’t read her other book, The Winter People, I’d recommend that one over this one first.
Rating
Four out of five stars
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If you enjoyed my review of The Invited by Jennifer McMahon, you might also like Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. Check out my review!
If you’re interested in purchasing The Invited, here are some quick links to buy the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And, if you’re interested to see what others think, here’s the link to the book on Goodreads.
