The Invited
My thanks to #NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. The Invited, by Jennifer McMahon (The Winter People), is a ghost story with the unnerving twists we’ve come to expect from McMahon. In The Invited, McMahon weaves history and the supernatural along with some restoration techniques into a creepy surprise filled tale of death and deception—and murder? It’s just about everything I’ve come to expect from Jennifer McMahon. I just love her scenery, the descriptions of New England, new and old. It is a fantastic read.

A couple decides to move to a large estate in Vermont. They meet Olive, a local teenager and the three embark on finding out the history of the house that seems to be in unrest since the new owners moved in. The Invited is for those who enjoy horror with a strong atmospheric tone.

Doubleday Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Invited. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Helen and Nate have escaped the trappings of their former lives, deciding instead to buy a large plot of rural land and build their dream house. When they discover that the land has a dark and twisted past, the historian in Helen desires to learn more. Will digging into the past unleash something sinister in the present?

Had the book just been from the perspectives of Helen and Nate, The Invited would have been a better read overall. Because the author also involves others' perspectives and their plot lines, the novel has a very convoluted feel. The supernatural elements were enough to give the book both a suspenseful and creepy glow, so the involvement of Olive, her friend, and her family members only served to muddle the plot. I did like how the author gave the story a historical background, as it helped to place the book in a more realistic framework. Readers who like ghost stories and mysteries may like The Invited for its suspenseful and creepy plot.

I'm not sure what my problem was with this book. I could not get into it and it was only all right for me. I devoured another book of hers in one day the last time I read this author. This storyline had everything that I typically love in a story. I think this was more of a me problem than a book problem. I love this author and I will continue to read her books!

I’ve been a fan of Jennifer McMahon’s previous books. All of them offer an engrossing read that really gets you enthralled. If I wasn’t sure what to read, McMahon’s books were always a great choice. My only complaint is that several of the covers featured a photo of a young girl, so I would easily get confused about which ones I had read. I call that a reading problem. 😉

When I was offered the chance to review The Invited, I didn’t realize it was by Jennifer McMahon at first. I still was excited to read it based on the synopsis, but then realized who the author was and was doubly excited. I was in for a great tale!

The Invited offers part suspenseful thriller and part ghost story, with another part mystery. While not mentioned in the synopsis, a girl living near Helen and Nate, Olive, and her aunt figure prominently into the story. I particularly enjoyed McMahon’s introduction of Olive, which I presume is why she’s not mentioned in the blurb.

I think my favorite aspect of the book was Helen’s delve into local history. There’s usually always a ton of stories from the past in little towns like this. However, I bet they’re not always as well documented as portrayed in this book, but I think the presence of a factory where many of the town worked would make this possible. But I could also just be stuck in my 1990’s view of local historical societies. I’m sure so much has changed with all of the technology the past 25 years or so has brought us.

It’s interesting how Nate and Helen are trying to make this state of the art house that is very much 21st century, but wind up diving into the past to find out more about the area and the people around there. Even as they’re building the house, they are living in a dingy trailer, secluded from the rest of the town. Helen finds salvaged pieces of old houses to add to the house, and Nate isolates himself into the nature that surrounds their home site.

I know summer reading tends to be more frivolous and lighthearted, but I feel like The Invited would be the perfect book to bring on a vacation, where you can hopefully get some uninterrupted reading time. Pick up (or download) your copy of The Invited by Jennifer McMahon and check out her back catalog for even more great reads.

The Invited is an atmospheric, creepy, suspenseful ghost story. I would not consider this book in the "horror" genre. The story was very engaging and hard to put down. I disliked the fact that the main characters were building a house on their own. This seemed an unnecessary plot point for me.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

The Short of It:

Not your typical ghost story.

The Rest of It:

Nate and Helen come to town with the hopes of building their dream house and living out their lives in peace and tranquility. The land they purchased was a good price, secluded, surrounded by nature and… haunted. Helen figures this out fairly quickly but Nate is not convinced even though one bad thing happens after another.

As they build their home from scratch, Helen learns of the history behind the land and also gets to know her teen neighbor, Olive, quite well after she attempts to scare them away, pretending to be the ghost of Hattie, a young mother who was hanged for witchcraft years ago.

But there is something mysterious going on and both Helen and Olive attempt to get to the bottom of it. Helen, out of curiosity and later, duty. For Olive though, her mother walked away from her and her dad without a trace and she believes the stories surrounding Helen’s land has something to do with it.

The Invited was a welcome surprise. It had a little bit of everything and the story was rock solid. Reading it was a nice way to spend a couple of days. I’ve not read this author before but I would absolutely read her again.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were believable for me and the story was very interesting in the way that the past was interwoven in the present. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good ghost story. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

The Invited was a riveting ghost story that surrounds the living in everything they do. Nate and Helen have decided to buy land in a very small town so that they can build their dream house and live off the land. But as they begin building, they notice that their items are going missing--a cell phone, tools, money from their wallets--and they start believing they are being played by the people of the town who think they have stirred up the ghost of Hattie Breckenridge. At the same time, Olive is a teenage girl whose mother left her and her father with no explanation. She believes that Hattie left a buried treasure and if she finds it, it will bring her mother back. For me, The Invited was a good, old-fashioned ghost story that invades the lives of the living. But as the saying goes, don't fear the dead, fear the living.

The elevator pitch:

A city couple buy a witchy, haunted Money Pit

Why I liked it:

I'm obsessed with house renovations, it doesn't matter if it involves my own, or watching a show about it. So this was right up my alley. This creepy, thriller is rooted in a simple concept: it's risky to invest in an old property. Now for most of us, it means the foundation may have to be ripped out, or woodworm is eating down our beams.
For Emily, the problems are much more significant. She and her husband Nate have bought the house once belonging to Hattie Breckenridge; a woman hung a century ago in a late-to-the-party witch trial. And Hattie may still hover around her old digs. Now Emily is a historian, and she's not put off by the backstory or the ghost she sees wandering around the grounds and the bog. I would run for the hills, so Emily's husband reaction— Nate wants nothing to do with it— seems way more sensible. But Emily has other plans. Some of us stare for hours at paint samples others fill their rooms with haunted heirlooms.
The Invited is not only supernatural novel; it also covers the city/country hostility and the mystery surrounding Olive, a 14-year-old neighbor. Like every other book out there these days is told by both Emily and Olive's POV, and that was my least favorite part, I much preferred sticking with Emily. The revelations in the Invited are not earthshattering and are easily deducted, but I enjoyed the scavenger hunt.

What it is about:


Emily and her husband Nate leave the city to live on a piece of land in Vermont. They soon discover mysterious objects left by someone who wants to do them harm, and understand why they got the property so cheap: Hattie Breckenridge haunts it. Their young neighbor Olive wants them gone. Olive's mother ran away; before leaving, she might have found the treasure buried Hattie Breckenridge. Soon this neighbor dispute comes to a head, and the town's secrets come spilling out.

Read or skip:


READ. it' a perfect hot night on the porch book, not too scary, but creepy and entertaining nonetheless.ml

Jennifer McMahon is becoming one of my favorite authors. And I'm very grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and comment on her new novel.

In The Invited, McMahon has taken all the expected elements of the modern haunted house tale, and deftly turned them into something delightfully fresh and unique, and absolutely chilling. If any book could claim to be un-put-down-able, this is it! (I did actually have to put it down a time or two, but not willingly.)

I don’t often find myself getting so involved with a book’s characters that I want their story to go on and on, but that’s exactly how I felt while reading this one. McMahon is expert at bringing her characters to life and making them seem (and sound) like real people — people the reader can care about and want to get to know. She’s also great at cooking up some really creepy action — I love her books! Looking forward to the next one.

I’ve been reading and enjoying Jennifer McMahon books for years now. When I was working on my MLIS (over a decade ago… yikes.), I had to take a young adult fiction class and create a database of recommended fiction. I included Promise Not to Tell as part of my adult/young adult crossover category. I remember thinking McMahon was an author to watch. Then I read The Winter People, followed by The Night Sister, and I became a loyal reader.

The Invited takes us to Vermont, where Connecticut school teachers Helen and Nick have moved to build their dream home. Soon after arriving, strange things begin to happen. Initially they ignore the ominous incidents, as one does, but a ghostly apparition finally forces Helen to investigate. With the help of two town residents, she lurks deeper into the dark past of her new home, inviting a danger she never imagined.

McMahon is a solid writer, and while her prose isn’t necessarily poetic, it keeps the pages turning quite well. Her characters are interesting and well realized, and I particularly love Olive in this novel. I love how the author dips her toe into the supernatural realm without moving into outright horror, as the result is an evocative, gothic ghost story. It would be an excellent autumn read, but I did thoroughly enjoy it in the middle of spring. It’s an easy book to recommend to anyone who loves a good ghost story.

"Some people move into a haunted house, but you, you want to build a haunted house, Helen."

The Invited was my second read written by Jennifer McMahon. I enjoyed The Winter People so much so that I actually had pretty high expectations for this latest read. If I had not been bogged (pun intended-but more on that later) down with being a full-time employee subject to working 46 hour weeks and a part time student taking four classes, I might have finished The Invited in a few days. This compulsive read manages to flow at an alarming rate yet totally immerse the reader in the lives of the cast members. Some alive. Some, not so much.

A quick overview of The Invited is that Helen and Nate decide to leave the 'burbs after a small windfall grants them the means to build a home from the ground up in the Vermont woods. Shortly after breaking ground, strange things begin to happen. The odd noise, the occasional chill in the air, you know? Classic ghost story stuff.

Helen's convinced there's something supernatural going on after hearing from the town folk that the land their home is being built on belonged to a notorious witch, Hattie Breckenridge, she can't help but dive deeper into the mystery that was Hattie. What could Hattie have done that was heinous enough to drive a whole town mad enough to hang her?

Based on the unnerving circumstances that leave Helen speechless, she's convinced Hattie has returned.

I won't deny McMahon's The Invited falls into the traps that plague many ghost stories. We all know them. However, nothing cliche or seemingly obvious, made this read any less thrilling and downright creepy. I'm not easily frightened but I am not ashamed to say I was genuinely freaked out a few times.

Like I mentioned earlier, if I wasn't so bogged down (OK-maybe only those who have read the novel will understand the pun) with work and school, I may have gotten through The Invited in a day or so. It's that good. I felt compelled to see where the story would lead. Having been familiar with Jennifer McMahon's other work, I knew there would be a crazy twist at the end. I invite those who are looking for a good ghost story to read The Invited. That was corny but I had to say it.

Copy provided by Doubleday Books via Netgalley

I am a huge fan of McMahon's books. I have read every one, and own almost all of them. I go back to them for re reads. I was very excited about this new release, which centers around a couple building their dream home, from materials that are somehow connected to terrible deaths of women from a famous local family.

While I did enjoy this book, I unfortunately didn't love it as much as I have loved McMahon's previous books. I love the way she integrates the supernatural and paranormal with mystery and psychological thrills, and the stories surrounding the women were absolutely fascinating. But these same paranormal aspects began to feel somewhat cheesy towards the end of the book. I was also able to guess the big reveal a chapter before it happened.

This was a good read, but not a great one as McMahon's other books have been for me. If you are a reader new to McMahon, start with her older books before you try this one.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book I've read by Jennifer McMahon and I liked it a lot. When Helen and Nate leave Connecticut to build their dream home near Breckenridge Bog in Vermont, they are not sure what to expect from their change of lifestyle. It's pretty clear that they don't expect getting involved in the story of Hattie Breckenridge, the area witch who is a subject of many of the town's legends and stories.
Although I found some of the book a little predictable, I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters and watching this story develop. It was a book that I kept wanting to read "one more chapter," until I realized I had read over 100 pages in one sitting. I'm passing this book to my 13 year old. It's suspenseful, but not too scary. I'd like to check out more of McMahon's books.

You could say that this is one book that I was looking forward to reading. Yet, I did not experience any chills or hair raising moments that kept me up at night. This was disappointing to say the least. This is the second book I have read from this author and the first one was a five star read for me. So, I know that Ms. McMahon can write.

The beginning of the story was good. I was feeling it but then this feeling dissipated fairly quickly. IF this story was meant to be a slow burn it was too slow. There was not much going on. In addition, it did not help that I found the characters uninteresting. It was easy to see where the storyline was going and how it would end. There was no surprise with the ending.

I hope that the next book is just as good as the prior one that I read. For me I am on the fence about the author. So, I will the next book before giving my verdict.

I received an digital advanced copy of this book from the author, NetGalley.com and Doubleday Publishing. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review.

Here is Ms. McMahon at her best. Strong female lead characters, supernatural events and all too human interactions. Creepy without gore, a tingling page turner that will definitely keep you up past your bedtime!

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I love a good ghost story and had high hopes for The Invited. I loved the twist of building a haunted house instead of moving into one. Unfortunately, the book ended up being a so-so read for me. The book involves Helen and Nate who give up their teaching careers in the city and buy land in Vermont. They want to build their dream home and live off the land. What they didn't bargain for was the land coming with a ghost or two.

I'm not really sure I would classify this as a ghost story. It wasn't creepy or scary in the slightest. I mean there was a ghost, kind of, but it didn't give me the chills I wanted. The story is told through duel perspectives of Helen and Olive, a girl who lives in the town. I think it was the duel perspective that kind of ruined the book for me. I was able to figure out the twist really early on and you will too if you pay close attention. The book could have been shorter. I got a bit bored with the mundane details about the house they were building. But, I did follow through to the end and was correct in all of my guesses about what really happened.

It's not a bad read, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. Give it a shot, just don't go into it thinking you will be too scared to read it late at night. You won't.

Pretty damn good as well as creepy. It's a multi-layered story that I really appreciated.

The writing is beautiful. The way McMahon writes leaves no doubt as to the theme or tone of the story.

She exceeded my expectations and now I think I'll check out her backlist.

The Invited

Nate and Helen are looking for a change. They trade in their city life and move to a rural area. They are in the process of building their dream house when spooky and unexplained things kept happening. I have to say this book spooked me out and every time I heard a weird noise I just knew it was the ghost in this book coming to get me. 😂

Not going to lie, the story did tend to drag in certain areas. Once it picked up I was hooked and I loved how everything came together in the end. The twist caught me by surprise and I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming. I would have liked a point of view from that particular person but overall it was a good ending with closure.

This was my first time reading this Jennifer McMahon and I was very impressed. I was hooked after reading the prologue and that rarely happens for me. I will definitely be checking out more books by McMahon.