Wow. This book is essentially a ghost story and atmospheric mystery. It pulls from such material such as the Yellow Wallpaper and Turn of the Screw. I really enjoyed the slow reveal of the story and would highly recommend this.

Spooky, creepy, and deeply unsettling. Thrilling in the best, most horrible way. This appealed to me specifically because of the spine-tingleness without the gore. I knew nothing about Pierce, his family, or his presidency before reading this novel. I appreciate the conclusion that true evil can never be defeated because it lives within us—It can only buried until a later time.

Very different style book and enjoyed it a lot. The white house to be haunted by the mistress is rare and super good. So spooky and couldn't imagine how they stayed there. Try this one out and turn the lights down, Recommend this one!

It was painful to see Jane and Franklin lose their child again. And all these heartache and trauma have impacted both of them badly. I was very intrigued and creeped out with all the haunting, but I can tell that this is a well-researched story as it covers down much historical information. The characters are all tied up together, and the writing style is superb. I recommend this book!

Is there a ghost in the White House? It's long been the subject of discussion and now Pyper has set forth a fictional answer - that it's Bennie, the son of Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane. Bennie was killed in a horrible train accident shortly after his father was elected. Franklin mourns him but Jane- Jane decompensated. She brings in the occult and a variety of charlatans to try to reach him. In the mean time, things are going wonky in both the country and the residence. It's an interesting merger of historical fiction and horror. I learned a bit about the period, as well as about Pierce (in part because I did some additional googling). It's well written and binge worthy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Historical fiction fans looking for something different should give it a try.

This book is terrifying. The darkness and depth of grief overtakes this family, this presidency and the effect on the White House.

Pyper knows how to create a story - partially based on true events - and magnified to an extreme. I'll admit that I knew very little about President Pierce. As a history fan, it's rather embarrassing to admit that. That said, this book added a new element of interest in my delving into his life and administration. How long until this becomes the next hit Broadway musical? ;)

This book is horror, historical fiction and...just excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

So, one thing I had read about was the hauntings. I loved the story! The despair and hopelessness was portrayed very well! I liked the history aspect, the truth mixed with the story is really great! From the beginning of the story it’s like a nightmare for both Jane and Franklin, the derailment of the train killing the last of their children. Then it’s as if Janes nightmare keeps going after her in a sense and started playing on her grief. I liked that this was a slow burn type of horror, like a slow building. I would like to point out that the way Andrew Pyper writes he writes so well that the stories I have read are a slow burn but they are sooo good that they make you think and in this particular instance I googled a lot about the Pierce family and their children’s deaths. The research and the story were phenomenal, if you like good fashioned slow burning hauntings then this is for you!

Normally Andrew Pyper scares the crap out of me - and I find it a page turner that I just cannot put down. This book was just....weird. So it starts out normal - a presidential marriage heading into their new and unknown life together. But then they lose a son, and move into a haunted White House that terrorizes them day in and day out. And no one can save them, because how to do you really save the President from ghosts that you cannot yourself see? I found most of the story laughable and not scary, and was really disappointed. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3 for neutral, I have tried and tried to finish this book, but just cannot seem to get myself to complete the task. I will update if able to, as the premise is so intriguing, but it’s almost depressing reading it, but I’m a very moody reader.

My thanks to Gallery/Skybound, Andrew Pyper and Netgalley.
So, just about the 60% mark I realized that I was done with this. I was majorly depressed. This was not scary. Mostly just awful sad and soon depressing. Those poor children. As a wife? I too would have been unforgiving. Not haunted, but...
I couldn't abide this story. I think that I've come to realize that Pyper is not for me! His scary is not mine.

The Residence is a haunted house story taken to the next level. The story is set in the White House during Franklin Pierce’s presidency.

PROS:
I don’t particularly gravitate toward historical fiction, but the 1853 setting is well researched and populated with events and people of the day. I found the history material rather interesting, and I got sucked into the era.

Elements of feminism, slavery, American Indians, politics, and the psyche of grief find their way into the book, enriching the plot. It’s more than a simple haunted house story.

Pyper’s prose hides in the background, doing its job without calling attention to itself. I never got the sense that the author tries too hard to be either poetic or highbrow. And yet when I stopped to examine a passage, I discovered fresh word choices and clever metaphors.

Usually the third person omniscient point-of-view is my least favorite because it gets confusing. But in The Residence, Pyper makes the point of view easy to follow so you don’t lose track of which person is thinking/acting/speaking.

You know how characters always make those stupid decisions in horror stories? Pyper takes care of that, so it makes sense why the characters proceed as they do.

The scary parts don’t just include things the characters see. There are smells and especially sounds that make everything creepier. Glad I read the book with the lights on!

CONS:
Places in the book read as slow-burn and character-driven, which I enjoy, so I didn’t take any stars off, but readers who like a more action-packed book may get restless during those passages.

OVERALL:
Overall, I loved this sophisticated, historical, haunted house story. Five stars.