Nothing like a good haunted house story just before Halloween!! This book is a creepy read, you start it thinking it’s a straight horror story with haunted houses and ghosts and all that jazz. As you delve deeper into the story you delve into the darkest parts of the human psyche and man is it quite a ride!

The beginning was extremely slow and I had a bit of a problem with the context of what was going on in a 10 year olds mind. The wording and ideals didn’t follow the vocabulary a standard child would possess. After you get past the first half of the book and the diary mysteriously shows up in Alices room the story takes off like a train wreck barreling towards you. Fear Emanates through the entire family, who can be trusted? Who should you believe? Who can save you except yourself? You will have to read on to find out

This was just okay for me, I just found Alice a little unbelievable as a 10 year old. I wished the tension and creepiness continued through out the whole story. I would read another of his books.

If you like stories with an edge, with a creepy house and a dark history, then this may well be the book for you. This is the story of Alice and her family who are planning to start a new chapter in their lives as they move into a new home. Her father, Frank, is excited, her mother, Debra, and brother, Dean, much less so. For Alice, there is just something about the house, something that she can't quite put her finger on that both thrills her and fills her a sense of fear. And, as the story progresses, it appears she was right to be afraid as the house nurses a dark past, secrets that Alice is soon to discover, and that could cost the family everything.

From the very start of the book you get that developing sense of foreboding. This is not a restful family home, it is a place mired in tragedy. Behind it's bizarre, side-facing exterior lies a house that could optimistically be described as a fixer-upper. It screams of a dark history and the author has done a great job in setting it up as a kind of creepy and unsettling place, with a myriad of corridors, dark spaces and unusual features that would put the chills in anyone, never mind an overactive ten year old mind such as Alice's. You know from the outset that something bad is bound to happen. It has been presented perfectly as one of those houses with the Bates Motel, Amityville kind of vibe. Nothing about the place screams family home, it only screams 'Don't turn out the light ...'

This is a slow building story and it is not really until the latter part of the book that the really dark stuff begins to happen. The first half is really about establishing the main characters, creating that unbalanced and isolated feeling that is essential to driving the chills through the rest of the book. This is done well - the creaking floorboards, the heavy weather front, the fissures that start opening up in the family unit. The tension creeps into the relationships and the story, and as dark and twisted things start to happen, the pace also starts to pick up.

This story is told in third person, largely through the eyes of a ten year old child - Alice. She is a great little character, a child who perhaps sees and understands things far more than someone her age should. I really liked the character, her inquisitive nature, and her wide eyed wonder. There is something about her though, and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, that makes her appear much older than a ten year old. More mature. Sometimes the way she speaks and acts does not appear in keeping with someone hovering on the precipice between birthday that involve large inflatables and makeover sessions. She certainly has to find the strength within herself towards the end as she becomes the central focus of the action.

Although this is billed as horror, for me it was somewhere between that and a mystery or suspense with the potential undertones of the supernatural. You are never sure whether it is a family madness, possession or something otherworldly that is happening within the walls of that house. It takes a lot to scare me though, and I did feel my pulse pick up a little towards the end when the real threat becomes apparent. That said, whilst this may not be a full on scare-fest, it does contain dark themes, none explored in a graphic way, but with enough information shared to leave the reader in no doubt about what happened to one the house's former occupants, Mary.

An entertaining, chilling and intriguing read that held my attention right to the last page.

What I liked was the fact that a juvenile was a hero. Fast paced, good writing and plot.
The book took me for an emotional ride. Loved it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Book: Thank you for choosing One by One, may I take your order?
Me: Yes, hello, I'd like one adult male author awkwardly writing from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl, and a large side of clichés, please.
Book: Would you like to add on a completely incomprehensible description of the layout of the house the story is set in, for just a few brain cells more?
Me: Yes, that sounds lovely. Can you also add some cheese to that?
Book: Oh, it comes with cheese. It's very cheesy.
Me: Delightful!
Book: Your total comes to two days spent on a book that you absolutely cannot recommend but thoroughly enjoyed anyway.

ONE BY ONE is the second novel I have read from author D.W. Gillespie (both from Flame Tree Press). While the first had a good storyline, this second novel felt much "tighter" in execution. The pacing was more steady, and my interest for the storyline never waned.

A family--Frank & Debra, the parents, and their two children, Alice (10) and Dean (15)--are forced to relocate from their home in the "city" to one in the country. A house that was "a STEAL" according to Frank.

". . . The woods . . . pressed in from all sides. There were secrets here . . . and to most people, that would be a bad thing."

I really enjoyed this storyline, as a sense of impending dread steadily increased, yet never quite revealed all of its secrets at once. This gave me time to think about each revelation, and come to my own preliminary observations.

". . . It was just an explanation, the kind of thing you turned to when there wasn't a satisfying answer . . . people did that to stay sane because if you started looking for what-ifs, you'd go crazy . . . "

There were a couple of things I never did get used to though. The children referring to their parents by first names alone was jarring for someone brought up to address their parents as "Mom and Dad". It was a bit confusing at first, trying to figure out who was who, and why there was no "familiar" connection. In the end, I had to chalk it up to simply the author's style, and my own personal experiences, not meshing.

". . . this was what being an adult was all about. Lying to yourself and those you love even when the truth was the only thing that seemed possible."

The other thing that bothered me a great deal was Alice's personality. It was much too mature for a ten year old girl with an "ordinary", loving family, I felt. It often seemed to me that she spoke/thought more like an eighteen-year-old woman, instead of a child. This may be in part because I have my own children, and the differences really stood out. Other than these two issues, I found the story to be original, and well paced all throughout.

". . . I think a lot about what a smile is, especially when you don't mean it. It's a mask. Something that hides the truth . . . "

Naturally, the house had a backstory, but this was written in such a way that the things currently happening were more important to me than the past . . .

". . . If any excitement about the house remained, it had faded . . . been replaced by something much closer to pure fear . . . "

While I didn't particularly connect to the parents, the relationship between the siblings felt authentic, and helped carry the story forward tremendously. Despite my feelings on the level of maturity Alice showed, she was a fantastically complex character that I really enjoyed following.

". . . A few extra dollars on the electric bill was a small price to pay for her safety against the unnamable things that hid in the dark . . . "

The psychological changes far outweighed the physical in the first three-quarters or so of this novel--something I feel helped insure my undivided attention. When there remains the questions of "if" or "what" in the face of some event--making it so you can not be one hundred percent sure of anything--the story becomes much more of a challenge and an "addiction" to me.

I simply have to read more!

". . . everything I know is pointless in the face of what I feel . . ."

Overall, this novel contained more than enough elements to keep me rapidly turning pages. I loved the plot, psychology, and mysterious episodes that began from the start. While I did have a few issues regarding the mental maturity of a ten-year-old girl, and relationship to her parents, in the end they were easy enough to overlook. A gripping tale from an author I will be eagerly watching for future books by!

Recommended.

Frank Easton is thrilled to leave his ordinary house and move his family into a huge fixer upper that he got on the cheap. He seems to be the only one who is excited. His wife Debra is used to his butterfly chasing as she calls it. Frank is always ready to follow one whim after another but this latest dream is putting more than the usual strain on their marriage. Their son Dean would rather be in their old neighborhood, and daughter Alice tries to see it as an adventure but it isn't long before she realizes something is not right in their creepy new home. This was a highly atmospheric novel with a perfect setting. There was not only the sinister feeling house to contend with but also the woods and a snowstorm added heft and weight to the suspense.

Sometimes all you need is a spine chilling haunted house mystery and this book certainly delivered – Alice and her family move to a new house and soon family members start disappearing one by one.

I loved the author’s writing style; it was very descriptive and completely set the scene without ruining the build up of tension. Things gradually got creepier and creepier until we’re hit with an unexpected and nasty conclusion.

This story shares a lot of vibes with the Shining: a family trapped in close quarters as they begin to behave in unexpected ways. The story itself is totally different but I got the same feeling of claustrophobia and dread watching an ordinary family fall apart, questioning how much is caused by supernatural influence and how much is just people being people.

I did feel that Alice was a little bit too precocious for an 11 year old and was a bit disturbed by how few fucks were given about the family cat, but otherwise I loved everything about this book – especially that the story has left me with questions. The best books are the ones that stick with you after you finish the last page!

This book isn’t particularly gory, though it does have its moments – the horror mostly lies in the suspense and the way the characters interact with one another. I highly recommend this book as an addition to any good horror collection.

This book was more than the typical haunted house story I was expecting. It was creepy, with twists & turns I wasn’t expecting. I really enjoyed this read. I’m looking forward to reading more from D.W. Gillespie!

One by One has the intriguing build up of a classic haunted house story that segues into something much more terrifying. Told through the eyes of a 10-year-old girl, Alice, her family has recently moved into a strange new home with a mysterious past.

There are many classic horror tropes - a mysterious diary, a hidden shack in the woods, a family member acting strangely...All meld together into something fresher but no less brutal than what you might have been expecting to happen.

It's an interesting wee book, a fast read, that has undertones of The Shining and will appeal to lovers of horror and thrillers alike.

This was quite a creepy read and was well written but it did take me a while to get through as It was quite slow going initially and I just wasn't feeling it.
Then about two thirds in things just exploded and this was what saved this for me the last third of the story without that input I was just not that invested.
So this is told from the daughter ten-year-old Alices POV and she's a bit of strange duck.
Her inner voices are particularly loud in her head almost like they are completely separate entities.
Alice herself has an almost grown-up persona much older and wiser than her young years.
So the whole family move into this quirky fixer-upper from there previous cookie-cutter home and after the discovery of the wall-pictures, the whole family start to spiral as the panic and sense of unease start's to set in and spread almost like a virus.
This story rather than relying on shock scares instead sets the scene building an ambience that is both spooky and suspenseful.
Where you're waiting for something or someone to jump out of the dark and scare you half to death.
As I Said earlier slow-building but got there, in the end, I'm also not exactly sure why I had such trouble connecting with this I just did.
I also wasn't a fan of the epilogue thought it was a tad long-winded.
This one had both negatives and positives for me but the writing itself was spot on and fine this was more a case of it's me, not you.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of One by One

One by One is the story of a family trying to maintain itself in the context of a new and mysterious house. Told from the perspective of the 10 year old daughter, Alice, you experience the family dynamic and the curiosity of their new home through her eyes and interpretations. The misunderstandings, musings, and imagination of a young child tint every event of the story which colors the entire narrative with additional clarity or muddiness as Alice agonizes over her familial relationships and tries to come to terms with who she is as a person and where she belongs.

The tension builds when Alice discovers a drawing of a family, like hers, behind some old wallpaper. Her overactive imagination gets the best of her as she analyzes the potential implications of the similarities to her brother and parents and the crude picture on the wall. When “X”’s begin to appear over characters in the picture and family members inexplicably vanish, Alice’s theories seem less crazy after all.

The premise was immediately compelling and the story remained interesting throughout. Unfortunately, as the mystery began to unravel during the climax of the story, a lot of the tension seemed to release a bit too early. Ultimately, the answers provided by the plot twist weren’t quite as satisfying as the tale might have implicated in its early portions. I still felt compelled to finish the story and my interest never fully waned, but I was left merely satisfied than fully awestruck.

Thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press, and D.W. Gillespie in exchange for an honest review.

A pretty disappointing read. The POV of the little girl felt too odd and weird and most the things she narrated felt too forced and made me question why the hell was I even reading this book. So I had to abandon it after a couple of pages itself.

The Easton family moves into an old, giant house they bought at dirt cheap price. Alice, the youngest in the family, is thrilled to move in there and explore it. Her joy soon turns to dread when she discovers a painting of stick figures depicting a family of four on the wall of the hallway ……. just like her family. The rest of the family brushes it off, but Alice is intrigued and scared by this painting.

One by one, the members of her family start disappearing, which is followed by a X marking that member in the crude painting in the hallway. Alice must unearth the macabre mystery behind this old house before she becomes the next victim.

Sounds scary enough? Well, it did to me. The first part of the book, where the family members keep disappearing one by one, is spooky. It kept me on the edge, and I was anxious to find out the mystery behind their disappearance.

Appearance of a never-before-seen diary in Alice’s bedroom, the creepy feeling of someone always watching you, the glimpse of a grotesque face on Alice’s window at the dead of the night, a glimpse of pink; snow, snow everywhere—all these images establish an unearthly atmosphere, ripe for a ghost story.

Apart from the images, Gillespie also plays with Alice’s mind. As the family members keep disappearing, suspicion rears its ugly head among the rest of the inhabitants. One by One is as much a portrait of the sinister as it is of a family itself. What makes a family? What breaks it? What makes family members stick together? What drifts them apart? During adversity, how strong are the bonds in a family which are already under strain?

However, the problem is One by One has been described as a horror book, but it is actually a psychological thriller. So, I was disappointed by the direction that the story took in the second half.

I was waiting for the ghost to appear; what I got instead was its pale imitation. In reality, human beings are far scarier than ghosts, which is the message the author was aiming for. Unfortunately, once the culprit behind the disappearances was revealed, I failed to be scared by that person. The writing in the latter part of the second half wasn’t powerful enough to evoke any fear or disgust towards the antagonist. This resulted in a tepid climax, in my opinion.

While this book did not work for me, that may not be the case for others. Gillespie’s One by One is not a run-of-the-mill horror book. It is grounded in reality, which will appeal to a wide section of audience, apart from horror and mystery fans.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a free eARC of this book. I opted to provide an honest review.

This was a very disturbing story and provided plenty of chills. I finished it in one night and kept the lights on all night. The family seemed to be very close-knit and loving until the haunting episodes started, then they began to split apart. I recommend this book to anyone who likes entertainment of the spooky variety.

One by One- G.W. Gillespie

This one was creepy as hell. Goosebumps, fear reading, on edge, a little jumpy, I LOVED it. I may have some messed up dreams tonight but that’s alright.

This is a page turner. As most horror stories do, this one also begins with a family moving into a new house. The house is described enough that you feel like you are in it with Alice and going through these horrors with her. Unlocking the mysteries of what has taken place in that house is a ride with an ending I did not see coming!

A story of a family moving into their new home, which is a very old property, and with intentions to do it up. The youngest, 10 year old Alice, is a bit of a dreamer and hears various different voices in her head. When a crudely drawn picture is discovered behind some wallpaper of a family similar to theirs, only depicting a dog instead of a cat as the family pet, the family wonder how it got there. Eerie goings on ensue as an X appears over the dog in the picture, and subsequently Alice's cat mysteriously turns up dead. When Alice finds the diary of a little girl called Mary, further suspicions that something is very wrong in the house are aroused.

This is a very quick and easy read and I was drawn in from the first chapter.

I liked the description of the house and it played in my head almost like the house depicted in the TV series, The Haunting of Hill House. The story was well paced and teased out. However, but I never really got the sense of creepy anticipation I like when reading a horror.

I didn't feel any empathy or connection to any of the characters and to be honest Alice got on my nerves a bit. She is the oldest 10 year old I've ever read about and having an 11 year old myself, I found myself saying "really???" a few times at things she said or did!

Thank you for the opportunity to read One by One in exchange for my honest opinion.

D.W. Gillespie proves he is fast becoming one of the stars of the Flame Tree Press stable, backing up the excellent The Toy Thief with this equally impressive haunted house story.
A gripping tale about madness in the vein of the Shining, it's a chilling account of a family coming apart after moving into an old house with a dark past.
Told from the POV of 10-year-old Alice, Gillespie plays with the narrative idea of history repeating itself to wind a tightening web of tension before a jaw-dropping final act.
Highly recommended.

Thank you to the author/publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC. 3.5 stars. What an interesting read! It didn't wait to start the creepiness. Right from the get go you eerie elements. A family of four and their cat move into a new house full of [dark] secrets. There's the sick figure family painted on their wall, a room with windows that peer into another room, and a mysteriously stench filled pool. The story is told from the younger daughters POV and as the story unfolds, she uncovers the house's past. This was a very intriguing story that I didn't want to put down, I needed to know what happened!

3 & 1/2🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & Flame Tree Press for a copy of this book for review.
One by One is the second book by D.W. Gillespie that I've read and much like The Toy Thief is almost a coming of age horror story. 10 year old Alice, her teen brother Dean, her Mom and Dad move into a creepy looking and feeling house her father finds as part of his plan for a new beginning after losing his job. On the very first day Alice finds a hand painted picture on one of the walls of a family almost identical to theirs only with a dog instead of their cat. The first night there's strange noises, a tapping on Alice's window, a nightmare that has her waking up screaming and ultimately them finding the first X over someone painted on the wall.
The story is very atmospheric and creepy, everything you would want in a haunted house/horror story, though there are a few periods of slow pacing. While the story is told from Alice's perspective, some of the wording she uses threw me off as it didn't seem like something a 10 year old would say or think. Not a great deal of character development either beyond Alice and the house itself, maybe this was intentional by the author as it is coming from a young girls point of view. The house and it's former occupants are quite interesting. The story definitely went in a different direction than I was expecting, I think that helps add to it being a bit different than a run of the mill haunted house story. Overall, a pretty good story I found enjoyable.