The House of Tongues is a book you read with all the lights on! And even then you may not be able to sleep afterward! David and his friend Andrea witness a terrible murder when they are teenagers and it changes their lives. When David returns to his hometown years later with his own children the past seems come back to haunt him again. Dark, creepy, the kind of book that stays with you long after it's read.

This book held my interest from the beginning, I had to keep reading to find out how it all turned out. Great read!!

This book was a really great read. The author gave interesting points that kept you on your toes and wanting to read more. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery. The ending is a great surprise, you would never believe who the culprit was all along. The author gives enough points to make the reader want to check out other stories that she has wrote. It leaves you wanting more!

I must admit, first of all, that this is the first book by James Dashner that I have ever read, which seems crazy now that I look at his bibilography. He's kind of a big deal but I had no idea going into this book.

Which is why I was so surprised at how good it was.

David Player went through some stuff as a teenager. And I don't mean acne and peer pressure and first kisses. I mean witnessing murder, being abducted, that kind of thing. A couple of decades later, he's tried his best to push all that out of his mind and have a normal life. But when he brings his four kids back to the old home place to visit their grandparents, things get weird, fast.

When the son of the serial killer David helped put behind bars shows up at the farmhouse, attempts to speak and ends up swallowing his own tongue, David is understandably upset. And when the murders start again and one of David's own children is taken, he gets downright angry.

Mixed in to all these murders and headless bodies found dumped in the swamp, is a centuries-old curse, a group of people David refers to as "Bagheads" due to their penchant for committing crimes with plastic grocery bags tied over their heads, and a place you really, really don't want to end up in: the House of Tongues. Which is exactly what it sounds like.

To regain his memories, figure out the mysterious curse, and save his family, David will have to face his fears, face his enemies, and face the horror that awaits him once more in the House of Tongues.

My one complaint about this book is that I felt like there were still some unanswered questions at the end, but maybe that's done on purpose and maybe it's setting things up for a sequel. Maybe it's just to keep the reader's mind going over and over the story trying to figure things out.

That one thing aside, this was one of those stories that you pick up and don't want to put down. The pace is steady but quick and in the last hundred pages it picks up more and more til you're skimming pages in your haste to find out what happens. The absolute bizarre weirdness of the things going on in this little backwoods town will keep you turning those pages like crazy.

And be sure to keep your mouth closed.

A perfect example of a surprise read! When I first started this I struggled to understand the appeal. The writing was lacklustre and pedestrian , the pacing plodding and it just had no spark to it. I persevered, marginally so I could have enough context for a review but also because the premise (which had attracted some to the book in the first place) still intrigued me. I’ve seen plenty of films & the shows featuring fictitious representations of real life killers but never in a book. Abit of a true crime fan I wanted to see how Dashner would handle the infamous and barbaric Pee Wee Gaskins and would it manage to scare me. I can safely say Yes it did! As soon as Andrea & David discovered Gaskins wooded secret the pace ramped up and I was delighted to find myself genuinely creeped out at many scenes. Once the pace lifted I found myself ploughing through this book intrigued at what next misfortune was going to be sprung on our protagonists.
I enjoyed the duel timeline story and the allusions between the fates of father & son but My biggest disappointment was the introduction of the curse & supernatural elements at the end. It felt unnecessary and poor explained so ended up feeling sloppy and an after thought. The terror of the man was enough, we didn’t need the added “spooky”

This book started off really strongly for me - serial killer, dual timeline, small town - to me this book was going to be a solid 5 stars.

Small town serial killer torments 2 young 16 year olds who spot him in the woods cutting off his victim's head. David tells his horrifying and traumatic story from events that happened to him at 16 and also 30 years later, as a widow and father of four children. A definite page turner, clues were dropped here and there to make you turn the pages even faster.

However, the ending was crazy and unbelievable. Coupled with many overly descriptive passages (I mean, 2-3 pages of how David kisses each of his four children goodnight - individually? ) meant there was lots to skim over. This book could've been way shorter, with a slightly more believable and cohesive ending, 3 stars for the first half and the excellent pacing.

As usual, Dashner did NOT disappoint. One of the most accurate sentences in a book, "Fair warning, this is a dark tale." I give 4 stars to this read, which means I really liked it! If you've read The Maze Runner series, put any expectations you have for a similar story / set of circumstances aside because The House of Tongues is on a whole other level. Dashner was quickly becoming one of my favorites / go-to authors, and he has clinched it with this one!

Creepy from beginning to end, which is a good thing. There’s a nice twist that I didn’t see coming and the characters actually have a good reason to go into the creepy basement.

David Player has spent 30 years trying to forget the traumas of his childhood. The threats, the kidnappings, the murders. The imagined curses of a people born centuries earlier, passed from father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation. Its climax came in human form, a monster of a man, one of the most notorious serial killers the nation has ever seen: Pee Wee Gaskins. And Gaskins had a particular hatred for the Player family, then for David, himself, who barely escaped those years with his own life intact.

Now David is back, his four children in tow, visiting his parents’ home, a place he has learned to cherish despite the evils that haunted his younger days. But no sooner does he return than a stranger visits their doorstep, the son of Pee Wee Gaskins. In a terrifying display, right in front of the kids, the man utters threats until he chokes on his own tongue, sparking a series of events that drag David and his family back into the days of curses and murders, onto a path of unimaginable terror, all too familiar.

That path leads to an old gothic tower in the woods, a place David had blocked from his memory, a house of horrors both past and present,The House of Tongues.

Wow this was definitely a change of pace for Dashner… but I like it!

Creepy and atmospheric from the start Dashner creates a cast of characters with their own special brand of messed up! From the crazy Gaskins family who feel like they have stepped right out of some old school Texas Chainsaw Massacre cult family to the protagonist David who is tormented and traumatised by his past, you are definitely kept busy trying to figure out just what is going on and who will be next’!

The perfect amount of mystery coupled with the right amount of violence, gore and mayhem makes The House of Tongues a perfect read for any horror or crime fiction fan. Not for the faint hearted though!

The House of Tongues by James Dashner is a horror novel.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Riverdale Avenue Books (Afraid) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
David Player is 44 years old, and his wife passed away two years ago.  He is raising his four children on his own.  Although three of them are adopted, they are a very close family.

Deciding to visit his parents may be the worst mistake he has made in ages.  What starts out as an exciting family trip, turns into the vacation from hell.  For his memories of events which occurred when he was 16 have left him, but when a stranger knocks on the door, the flood gates start to open.  The son of a notorious serial killer has come to call, and he intends to make sure that David and his family play his game.

Soon David will remember everything, and will have to fight to protect his family from a curse that has been passed down for 200 years.  It will eventually lead to an old tower in the woods, a place that David had not thought of in many years.  The House of Tongues.


My Opinions:   
I believe this is the first adult-based novel from this author, although he has had a lot of success with his Y/A Maze-Runner series (which I also enjoyed).

This was very good.  It held my interest from start to finish, as it was not just horror, but an entertaining mystery woven in.  The story is told through David's eyes only, and in two time-lines, one when David is 16, and one when he is 44.  The two time-lines somewhat mimic each other.

Yes, there was blood and gore, and yes, it was a little unbelievable, but....it is a horror novel, after all.  I loved the plot, and it was a fast and easy read.

I also loved the characters.  David, Andrea, and the kids were all likeable, and relatable.  The bad guys (even the one that wasn't supposed to be), were all clearly defined.  There were no real surprises there.

James Dashner has just proven he can write adult-based books as well as his best-selling YA books.

“Life was no longer linear, but a loop of terrifying anticipation.”

I don’t normally gravitate towards novels that are categorized as horror, but I loved The Maze Runner series, so when I saw that this was by the same author I was intrigued.
The House of Tongues is a gripping page-turner, told in dual timelines by the main character David, set 30 years apart. The terrors that haunt his childhood come back to face him decades later, now widowed and father to four children.
Unfortunately, after the House of Tongues was introduced into the storyline, the rest went downhill for me. I felt that the remaining plot and the answers we were waiting for were just thrown together and didn’t really make sense. The ending alone knocked off a star for me.

Read this if you like:
- a story with a serial killer
- multigenerational rivalry between two family lines
- dual timelines where events in the past resurface in the present


[Spoiler]:
I would have liked to read what happened to Wesley the first time he was kidnapped - the readers never get told where he goes, or what he does for 3 whole days.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC]

I've read and enjoyed some of James Dashner's popular earlier novels, but now his newest, THE HOUSE OF TONGUES, is truly in a class by itself. The writing is excellent, the characters are metaphorically flayed to their core [by which I reference that not only can't they conceal themselves from author or reader, they cannot hide from themselves].


THE HOUSE OF TONGUES is extreme, make no mistake. The novel is gore-suffused, but not without cause. What also suffuses it is puzzles and a wagon load of "Why?!!" throughout the novel as protagonists, accompanied by readers, struggle to discover both what, why, and later also who, and the rationale is incredibly bizarre, yet in context, somehow logical. Read and see!!

House Of Tongues was such an amazingly gross, dark, and disturbing read. It exceeded any and every expectation I had. I must say, It's one of the best horror books that I've read all year with a mix of mystery within it. House Of Tongues is written in a Dual timeline which was very refreshing to me since it was the first dual timeline book I've read in a while. Thank you Netgalley, Riverdale Avenue Books, and Author James Dashner for the opportunity to read House Of Tongues in exchange for an honest review.

PeeWee is that creepy local guy who drives around town in his old hearse and never goes anywhere without his shovel, which he sometimes strokes lovingly. That's the public PeeWee. One evening young David and his friend Andrea happen upon the private PeeWee in the woods...sawing away at someone's head. PeeWee see's them too and from that moment on PeeWee focuses on David. PeeWee's desire is to torment David, shame him, scare him, make his life hell. 20 years later David comes back to visit his parents, bring his 4 children. PeeWee is dead. It should be safe. It isn't. History seems to be repeating itself and once again David is terrified as he see's that his son Wesley appears to be the target this time.

I found this book to be bumpy ride without a seatbelt. Even though I kept thinking, "take your kids and go home", I still enjoyed the creepy story telling and visuals. As I read the book I had no idea that there was a real PeeWee Gaskins in South Carolina who also drove a hearse and was apparently a really inventive killer. It would be interesting to know if the author grew up during that PeeWee's time and weaved his childhood nightmares of that scary guy into this story.
Thank you #Netgalley for allowing me to read and review #HouseofTongues

The story transfers you through back and forth on years that I clearly enjoyed because you get to know the backstory of what occurs to this character as he goes through horrible events that woken up later in life. It leads you to a downward spiral of terror, mystery, suspense, hoping it all came to an end. One character, in particular, torments the living hell out of this person, causing a living nightmare no one would want. To have it again was torturous and even betrayed by someone very close. I read many horror books, but this one hit the right spot of a true horror tale. I really love the whole storyline and I will admit, it freaked me. Just the way I love it when reading horror. It's a must-have and a must-read. Excellent horror to give off goosebumps.

I was way more than impressed than I expected. This story had small town gothic vibes that I thoroughly enjoy.This story is quite interesting and with a fast pace, it's easy to read and very well written and I really enjoyed how the tension grows while we get to know the events of David's childhood and current life in a dual timeline. Highly recommend for anyone who loves this type of story.

This is a story about staring into the abyss.

The good: if you enjoy serial killer horror, this is a well written & compelling.

The less good: I enjoy a dual timeline horror, but this one lost me towards the end.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 💫

Thank you so much Netgalley & Riverdale Avenue Books for this eArc.

I really enjoyed the Maze Runner series so I decided I wanted to give this new book a try and I’m thrilled I did. While the Maze Runner was geared towards the YA crowd, this book is most definitely for the Adult crowd. The story alternates between David Player as a youngster who along with his best friend, Andrea witness a serial killer at work. Before being captured, this killer terrorized David on more than one occasion. Now, 30 years later, while visiting his parents in his childhood home, the murders are beginning again and David’s own children are being targeted. An excellent, dark and twisted thriller.

David Player has spent most of his life trying to forget the traumas of his childhood: Pee Wee Gaskins, an unstoppable serial killer, was obsessed with his family and with David in particular. 30 years after the son of Pee Wee seems to be just as obsessed and starts tormenting David's children. Why are the Gaskins so fixated with the Players? Who is behind all the murders?

It's been years since the last time I read anything written by James Dashner. If you don't know him, he's the author of the Maze Runner series, which I enjoyed, but The House of Tongues is something completely different. It's a proper horror story, with a creepy (very creepy) serial killer and lots of family secrets. The Maze Runner had its dark moments, but this novel is just on another level.

The story is quite interesting and with a good fast pace, it's easy to read and well written and I particularly appreciated how the tension grows while we get to know the events of David's childhood and current life in a dual timeline. Unfortunately there are a few major elements that are fundamental to the story that I didn't like or understand: I found the reason behind the murders and the history between the Players and the Gaskins a bit weird and didn't make much sense to me, it could have maybe worked if the novel was set 100 years ago but not in 2017. Also there's a revelation / plot twist that was quite predictable and therefore didn't surprise me much.

The House of Tongues is a good horror story, it's not perfect but I surely enjoyed it.
3 stars.

* I'd like to thank James Dashner, Riverdale Avenue Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not knowing what to expect going into The House of Tongues, I was way more than impressed. It had small town gothic vibes that I love. Switching back and forth between past and present allows the reader to learn little bits of the story at a time. I definitely will be recommending this to customers at work!