Love the cover and description, but the book fell flat for me. Nothing new here and wasn’t blown away by the writing style.

D.M. Pulley knows how to write a scary, creepy, hold your breath, the hair is standing up on the back of my neck ghost story. Rawlingswood is not kind to its inhabitants, actually it is downright nasty and perverse.

The story follows five families, from the days just prior to the stock market crash of 1929 to the summer of 2018, encompassing the tragedies that plague their tenancies in this house. Can a new occupant change the oppressive bad luck that has fallen upon all the other residents? Well maybe, but the larger question is do you even care what happens to such unlikeable, narcissistic, selfish, whining people? And that was my problem – most of the adults in each section were unsympathetic characters. The plight of the children and their respective predicaments reinforced that abuse is not new, the young and helpless are often marginalized by those they know best. Having a few more likeable characters would have strengthened the story for me.

I enjoyed the mystery, the clue dropping, but admit to some confusion in the back and forth and had to keep returning to previous chapters to remind myself who did what and when.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy.

D. M. Pulley’s No One’s Home is a decent mystery with a tragic history and a creepy atmosphere. It had the potential to be truly memorable but it’s bogged down with unlikable protagonists and a dragging plot.

Attempting to escape their past, the Spielmans move into spooky Rawlingswood mansion. However, their new home is rumoured to be haunted. The renovation process was wrought with strange incidents. Soon after the Spielmans move in, strange things start happening in the home. Something is watching them. While the family begins crumbling under the weight of hidden secrets, the teenage son Hunter uncovers Rawlingswood’s painful past. The family must confront their own issues before the house’s dark history repeats itself.

This is a good read with a fascinating setting and ample tragedy, grief, and darkness. However, I would not reread it. The book ultimately doesn’t deliver on its potential. I do like the eerie atmosphere and setting but I wish more had been done with it. The intriguing plot held my attention and it has some great twists. I particularly like the main big twist because I didn’t see it coming. It is tragic and sad but the aftermath is not handled very well. I wish Pulley dealt with it in a more organic way that made sense. I like the alternating timelines and the settings are nicely done. For the most part, Pulley handles the transition between points-of-view and families pretty well.

However, the book drags, especially once the big twist is revealed. Some of the plot turns are too implausible. But, I like that the ending nicely ties the timelines together and explains the facets of the mystery. However, it is too conveniently sweet and doesn’t really fit the characters.
This book features a large cast of characters. I do like former Rawlingswood inhabitants Ava and Benny. However, I wish several of the other characters were less stereotypical and flat. I wish that Pulley had cut one family in favour of properly developing the others. The other inhabitants of the house’s past are much more interesting than the Spielmans.

Most of the book focuses on the stereotypical Spielmans. They have tragic backstories that had the potential to be interesting. However, I wish these issues were dealt with more impactfully and efficiently because they didn’t seem like they were truly part of their characterization. Moreover, several characters act very inconsistently and this took me out of the book.

No One’s Home is a good one-time read with an interesting mystery. I wanted to love this book but the inconsistent characters and the dragging plot overshadows the wonderful setting and eerie atmosphere.



🏠🏠🏠 haunted houses out of 5!

Unfortunately this book isn’t for me! I haven’t stopped around the 40% mark, wanting very much to keep going but not finding myself pulled into the story in a way I would like to be!

I think the plot and the premise are extremely interesting and the different generational timelines is not only intriguing, but something that a lot of time, planning, and work goes into. I admire the book for this! I think it will be one many people enjoy!

For this reason I have decided to not write a full review posted to my Goodreads, as I don’t believe I can fairly rate the book given that I didn’t finish it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it.

I am really impressed with the writing of this book. It felt like an amalgamation of several different classic horror stories but didn't feel cliche or repetitive. That is a very fine line! The one struggle I did have with the story was the excessive number of timelines. Since the story was about the history of a house, it bounced between different owners. I even think it bounced around within their timelines. I am not sure. I was somewhat lost. I knew which owner's timeline I was reading, but couldn't keep straight at what point I was in it. And, like I find in books with multiple timelines, I find one that interests me more than the others. Thankfully, this time it seemed to be the one the author was focusing on the most as well. Character development was much stronger and it helped ground the story. While I was not a huge fan of the bouncing around, I am not sure there was a better way to tell the story.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy. This was a great read! Creepy, spooky , suspenseful and thrilling. Spooks you throughout. Finished in one sitting!

A wonderful ghost spanning several decades and several families! Great storytelling and rich characters drive this tale.

14895 Lee Road is the address of the Rawlingswood House or as others call it The Murder House! Five Families have lived there and each family have had a death happen.
Rawlings 1922-1931
Bell 1936-1972
Klussman 1972-1990
Martin 1994-2016
Spielman 2018-

The Spielman family wanting a fresh start decide to move to Shaker Ohio. Myron the father and Margot the mother see potential in the Rawlingwood mansion and the price is something they can’t pass up. Inside there’s graffiti and messages hidden in closets and walls, the house is going to need to be completely renovated. Once the contractors begin they find tools missing and it’s like the house doesn’t want to be worked on. The contractors say the house is cursed. When they move in the spielmans immediately feel like their being watched and sometimes at the corner of their eyes they see a girl in white. The book alternates between the troubled history of the home through the stories of all four families. When the lightbulb in the attic keeps coming back on, even though none of them have been in the attic, doors open and closing and when secrets the spielmans want to remain hidden begin to surface, they begin to realize they may not be alone. When Myron and Margots son Hunter whose only sixteen begins to see things he cannot explain he asks the help of his friend Caleb back in Boston to help him investigate what actually happened in the home before his family moved in. What secrets does the house hold? What do the dead want? This book is the perfect fall/ Halloween read! I give this four stars!

DNF at 36%. I really tried to get into this book, even going so far as to switch over to the Audible version. Unfortunately, it just didn’t do it for me. I sat it down a week ago and have no interest in picking it back up.

The author can clearly write, so I’m sure many people will enjoy this story. It’s just not right for me, primarily because it reminds me too much of hundreds of other haunted house stories.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC.

Absolutely hooked. I was enthralled with this book from the start. Trying to solve the mysteries of last families. Each section , written about past families of the house, kept me captivated. Ghosts, history, murders, this book has it all.. Just could not out it down. I will be reading more from this author.
I received this from Netgalley, and am leaving an honest review.

No One’s Home starts out innocently enough. The Spielmans move into a new town, looking for a chance to escape their past. But, after purchasing and renovating a foreclosed “haunted” house, they begin to realize that the house is threatening to undo the fragile new life they have created.

As the story unfolds, the reader is introduced to several families who have lived in the house and suffered through the experience. These various points of view add layers and questions to the story, drawing the reader into the menacing and spooky past.

With Halloween right around the corner, this might be just the book to pull off the shelf. Atmospheric, creepy, and sometimes just plain scary, it has all the elements to keep you up at night.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

At first I thought this book was just another ‘Haunted, creepy house where a family is haunted.’ - it wasn’t, it was so much more.

I found the different points of view hard to follow at first and even towards the end I had to double check to remind myself whose POV I was following.

No One’s Home was a creepy, atmospheric read that’s perfect for Halloween. Although i struggled to get into it at the start the mystery, history and character backstory was interesting and kept me reading.

I received a free copy of “No One’s Home” in the ebook edition via Net Galley.
If Ms.Pulley has written a dull, non-captivating book, I haven not read it. When you pick up “ No One’s Home” be ready to drawn into a swirling darkness that will keep you fixed on the ominous house in Shaker Heights , Ohio.
The author pays homage in her forward to Shirley Jackson’s classic, “House on Haunted Hill”, and rightly so. But while the group who entered that house chose to be subjects of a paranormal experiment, the families who lived in the house of this book did not know what was waiting for them. Neither will the reader. I try not to drop any spoilers in my short review that would lessen a new reader’s enjoyment of the book.
There are three families in the history of the house: the first, the Rawlings, built the mansion in the 1920’s, naming it Rawlingswood. The Klussmans , the second family, bought it thirty years later and then came the Spielmans who purchased the sprawling house in 2018, despite its state of disrepair and the rumors of being the site of a murder.. Ms. Pulley tells the story of the house through them and how what happened to each of the families affected the following. Note that the novel is not a Stephen King gore and obscenity laced tome. The author’ characters are interesting, conflicted and troubled, yes, but very human. The dark secret of the house and what is behind it is hidden while the author distracts the reader by getting us to focus on her left hand , the disfuntional Spielman family upsets, while the right is setting us up for a completely satisfying ending
Summary: Very good, absorbing and highly entertaining.
Trigger warnings for the snowflakes who read cozy, knit nook cat mysteries: it is a psychological, i.e., horror novel, so expect to be surprised by nasties and things that creep and creak in the night. Some commonly used four letter words.

Awesome book. In the previous books, she wrote in two timelines, in this she has written in five timelines and brings them all together beautifully. Though I had a little difficulty in remembering the names initially, later on it was easy. I have read all the books by this author and this and The Dead Key are my most favourite. Even the small details are coherently told .

This was a decent read with a definite creepy factor. It follows the lives of 4 families over a number of decades who all live in the same house in the Shaker Heights neighborhood of Cleveland.

While I enjoyed the story, it felt really long to me (I read on a Kindle so not sure how many pages it was) and was rather convoluted in going back and forth between the 4 families. I found myself having to stop and remind myself of which family this was and what their story was before reading the chapter. I think the author developed the characters the best he could when there were so many of them, but would have enjoyed getting to know a smaller number of characters even better.

There were some scary parts and I think the author did a great job of building up the suspense factor- if you like ghost stories, I would recommend this one for sure.

Netgalley provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rawlingswood sounds like a lovely house. At the beginning of the novel, it’s definitely a fixer-upper but, after the Spielmans finish with their renovation, it’s a dream setting. Problem is, dreams can turn into nightmares, and that’s what happens when construction finishes. Actually, it doesn’t even take that long, since even the builders are plagued by unexplained events. The house is so well described that it’s impossible not to picture everything about it. The characters are rounded and complex. The historical component, which the author explains is based in fact, is fascinating. My only issue with the novel was that there were too many different plots. We see what happened to all the resident families throughout the history of the house, and all the stories are interesting but, after a while, they become a little hard to keep straight. The book more than makes up for it with its fabulous ending.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer!

The premise of this book was extremely exciting to me as a huge fan of Shirley Jackson and anything haunted. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations that were already possibly unrealistically high. The pacing felt off and I found myself wanting to skip some of the chapters that covered families from the past. The modern day characters were much more intriguing to me and I was entertained by them. There were some moments that did generally spook me, but in the end I felt something was missing.

I am a huge fan of D.M. Pulley and this book is arguably the best.

The home on Lee Rd. in Shaker Heights, Ohio was built by the Rollingsworths in the 1920s. It stands a magnificent shell of the original residence when Margot and Myron Spielman decide to buy it in 2018. The house is in shambles from disrepair, theft and neglect. After restoring part of the three-story estate, the Spielman’s and their son, Hunter, make it their new home. Secrets buried and the glimpses of unusual sightings make them question the wisdom of their purchase. More of their lives intertwine with those that came before, leaving everyone fighting with unseen demons.

The tension in this book will keep you on edge. Even when you are not reading, the puzzles and ideas planted throughout the story are being mulled. Each of the characters have strength and weaknesses. Some are irredeemable but most have good and bad qualities. The writing is suspenseful, intriguing and thrilling. Just as you think you have things figured out; something will happen to leave you questioning everything you know.

D. M. Pulley writes mysteries and thrillers like many other authors. However, the emotions that this book and her prior mysteries evoke are so superb that she must be considered one of the best. She has, once again, written one of my favorite books of the year.

I received an ARC from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. That in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.

Haunted: (of a place) frequented by a ghost. Synonyms, possessed, cursed, jinxed.
(a person) having or showing signs of mental anguish or torment.

14895 Lee Road, originally known as Rawlingswood.
Five Families: All haunted...

Rawlings : 1922-1931
Bell: 1936-1972
Klussman: 1972-1990
Martin: 1994-2016

R.I.P. Rest In Peace

The Spielman family is looking for a fresh start and the price is right, so they ignore the rumors, the disrepair and the graffiti, and spare no expense with the renovations. But some things cannot be ripped out by contractors.

Immediately creepy and atmospheric, the story opens with the Spielman family, but alternating chapters, share the troubled history of this home, through the stories of all four of the families unfortunate enough to have lived here prior. It’s not at all hard to follow. You are even provided a blueprint of the home...

When lightbulbs, turned off, keep coming back on, doors closed, open on their own, and various secrets begin revealing themselves, teenage son, Hunter becomes an easy scapegoat, for parents Myron and Margot.

But, Hunter has seen things too.
And, he is tired of being blamed.

So, with the help of his friend Caleb, from Boston, and the internet, Hunter starts sleuthing to figure out what has actually transpired in this home, before his family moved in.

But, What do the dead want??

This book was inspired by the century homes of Shaker Heights, Ohio-a real place, two real murders, and one rumor....

If you are looking for a perfect Halloween book, what could be better than that??

Available NOW!!

Thank You, to Netgalley, D. M. Pulley, and Thomas and Mercer for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a candid review!

Quite a while ago I read the contemporary/historical novel THE DEAD KEY by D. M. Pulley, and was intensely engrossed. I'm delighted that her newest, NO ONE'S HOME, is every bit as enthralling. If you love history and pondering the ways in which it affects the present, I believe you will find this a gem, as did I. Set in Cleveland's prestigious Shaker Heights Community, the novel relates the stories of several families occupying an upscale home built in 1922. Is it haunted? Is it history? Is it family and personal dysfunction? Greed and cupidity? Will the cycle ever end? Read on and discover.