This book went in circles at points and could have been edited down to be less redundant. As a reader, we know Harry doesn't have money, we know she puts her son first, etc. It doesn't need to be over explained so many times throughout the book. Also, although Harry was a strong Mother, I wasn't endeared to her character and couldn't quite connect with her. There was just something missing for me.

I did feel pleasantly surprised that the story went in a supernatural direction that I wasn't anticipating when I started it. I had to know how the story would all wrap up and that kept me reading even though the pace wasn't very fast.

It had some good creepy parts but I wouldn't call this a horror novel. It's more of a slow burn suspense story. I wish the ending had been more satisfying for me...I don't know. I think I just had different expectations for it.

I am so conflicted about this book! My biggest response is also the strangest: this would make a fantastic movie. Although writers are always advised to show rather than tell, this has SO MUCH showing that would translate well to a visual. Some of the tension and dread that was missing in reading it, that made it feel slow, would be perfection in a movie. I would leave a theater after watching this feeling awful but in the good way. A feel bad movie. But it makes for kind of a boring book.

Except I can't say that firmly either - Harry is an interesting character, always trying to check her own paranoia and effects of life trauma against logic, rationality, and reality, and falls into the classic horror trap of trying to avoid a horror trap. She's a great mom, and her son Gabe is a truly lovable teen character. I love that the parent and the child work together when it comes to the haunting, and the way Harry chooses truth woven with protection. Their relationship is excellent, and was the brightest light in this book.

Javier Castillo, our other main character, is complex and frustrating. He is a representation of genius, toxic masculinity, the complexities of fatherhood and emotions, but also a person whose ego is so big and his head is so far up his own ass he's basically a circle. The kind of person you want to meet once and then never see again, appreciating them from a distance.

This is worth reading, worth thinking about, and is clearly written by someone who appreciates horror movies.

Ever since reading Alice by Christina Henry, I have been trying to read all of her books. She has become one of my favorite authors and with good reasons. As soon as I saw The House That Horror Built on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I was so excited to be approved, and I devoured this book.

In the story we meet Harry Adams, she has always loved horror movies. Maybe you can say she loves every spooky and macabre. Unfortunately, her parents prohibit her from watching, reading, or even to have the slightest exposure to the genre. Fast forward to the present, and Harry is a single mom of a promising young man, but money is tight, so she takes on a cleaning job. Her client is none other than legendary horror film director Javier Castillo. When she enters his private estate, things get weird fast. Harry feels uneasy, starts to hear voices, and soon finds herself having to leave there with her son.

Let me tell you, I was at the edge of my seat. You could feel the tension Harry felt throughout the book. I sorta resonated with Harry a bit because I was the girl in the group where all I wanted was to read horror and watch horror flicks. If this turns into a movie, I can see it being such a unique and entertaining movie. It's definitely a must-read.

In The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry we meet independent single mother Harry who has been on her own since running away from her religiously Finattic family she soon becomes the housekeeper for famed horror director Javier Castillo when Harry begins working for him he has just fled across country from LA to Chicago wanting anonymity from the scandal of his wife helping their son flee murder charges and they haven’t been seen cents. She’s supposed to clean everywhere except for the locked bedroom upstairs and although curious she minds her business until the day she starts hearing noises and please for help from the room this is only the beginning of the strange happenings that are going on in Bright Horse House it doesn’t help matters when Harry believes Mr. Castillo is taking too big of an interest in her 14 year old son Gabe. When someone is murdered in the house and due to the paparazzi Harry and Gabe is forced to move-in with Mr. Castillo it just marks the beginning of the end. Despite horror memorabilia moving on its own and a recent murder victim occupying the home I think I would’ve gone with Harry’s first thought and that is to stay at a homeless shelter I really like Terry has a character although her suspicious nature did begin to be a bit much but overall I really liked her and I also liked the whole 80s horror atmosphere of the book I thought the ending was a bit fast but overall really really liked it and totally recommend it I’ve never read a book by Christina Henry before but would definitely not hesitate to read another. I love paranormal fiction and love it even more when it’s not a question of is it paranormal or can it be explained I like ghost, things moving that shouldn’t move in they had all this and more. The book was so good! I want to thank Berkeley publishing and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

"A single mother working in the Gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don't Die and Horseman.

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it's not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making films that thrilled audiences - until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe - she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can't ignore."

And what about that scandal!?!

This was my first Christina Henry book, and I liked it, but it honestly didn't blow me away. I think she did a good job with the pacing, I was pretty engaged the whole time. However, there was literally no twist at all, exactly what I thought was happening was accurate, and the ending was very abrupt. I would say this book was entertaining, for sure, but I don't know if it will stick with me.

Harry Adams has always been a fan of horror. She takes a job as a house cleaner for the reclusive and scandalous horror movie director, Javier Castillo. As she cleans she begins to notice things she can’t ignore.

Movie buffs will enjoy this as it has a lot about movie production, directing, and spooky props. I didn’t really connect with the characters or the spook factor but I was still very curious to see how it ended and how the history played into the current time.

The House that Horror Built comes out 5/17.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this title!

I think this could have been great but the pacing did NOT work in its favor. It took forever for anything horror-related to happen other than the constant mentions of various horror movies and paraphernalia. When things did finally happen they were so few and far between that it still felt like nothing. By the end (when everything was happening, and I say everything lightly) it felt like the climax of the story was just crammed in. Also, there felt like some pretty egregious loose ends that didn’t get addressed!

The dialogue in this is probably my biggest complaint. It was so weird? Real people don’t talk like this? Gabe’s dialogue specifically just was not even close to being realistic. 14 year old boys do not say things like that. I’m so sorry. They just don’t. Everything felt like buzzwords somehow and there were incredibly oddly placed sentences that felt like classroom PSA videos, like if I was watching a movie the characters would have turned and broken the fourth wall to deliver this Deep Commentary. I wish I’d made a note of some of them but alas. I did not.

This one just fell really flat for me unfortunately. It’s a bummer!

The House that Horror Built
Christina Henry
May 14, 2024

I’m a huge fan of Christina Henry’s writing but this one I think would have been better as a short story. I loved the premise and the characters, the beginning and the end but the middle lagged a bit.

Harry’s a single mom, struggling during the pandemic, and gets an opportunity to for the job of her life; cleaning for a horror film writer. The mansion, Bright Horses, is a horror lovers dream. Props and memorabilia from Javier Castillo’s movie making days are everywhere. Harry begins to suspect theirs more to the house than meets the eye when she hears strange voices and moving memorabilia. The bond that Javier has with Harry’s gifted 14-year-old son is at first welcome but soon borders on obsessive.

Again, a lot of great things about this story but a lot of time internalizing in Harry’s head and a little lag. All in all, enjoyable and I’ll continue to look forward to Henry’s books.

My thanks to @BerkleyPub for this gifted copy!

This was just not it for me. I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. I didn't find this to be scary or riveting, it felt very YA written. It was very repetitive and while reading I thought it was 800+ pages because we hardly get new info and it just didn't captivate me.

I love love love the author's other books. In all honesty this didn't even have the same fast paced, edge of your seat writing, that the author usually creates.

This was my first Christina Henry read, and you best believe I will be seeking out her other books now. I read this in almost one sitting. It flowed to well as the story gradually built. I will say the ending was rather abrupt but I kinda liked it that way, there wasn't a need to continue it after the big thing happened, so I enjoyed that it just ended rather than spending several chapters wrapping it all up. I will say there were times where the anti current movies, or using your phone, or other curmudgeonly things like that felt out of place, but overall it wasn't too bad.

My heart is still pounding

What just happened ? I’m an adult, how did a book shake me to my core ? Well, when you are Christina Henry, you know how to skillfully craft a book that will consume and frighten even the coldest of folks.

I know I know. This is crazy . I can read Stephen King and not even bat an eye but I tell ya, this one is good, real good .

It might have been the whole spooky, horror house or maybe it was the secrets and twists that just kept on coming .

I think you should find out for yourself …

Teaser :

A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don't Die and Horseman.

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making films that thrilled audiences—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe—she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.

The House That Horror Built was a fun possession story that will have you guessing till the last page. The beginning of this book started off so strong for me. It was creepy and interesting. The middle was a bit slow but that ending was great. Idk what I was expecting but it was not that twist. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who loves horror.
3/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars…

I enjoyed this, even though not a whole lot happens. I liked Harry. She was strong and smart in the face of everything thrown at her. But this wasn’t really horror, like it is pitched as.

This is really character driven, with some exciting moments in the plot happening here and there. There just wasn’t enough happening…

Single mom of a teenager, Harry gets a housecleaning job for a prolific horror film maker. The mysterious man is reclusive and secretive, but that’s fine with Harry. She gets her job done with discretion. She begins to hear strange noises in the house behind locked doors… and these secrets WANT to come out.

While I liked our protagonist, this book was a lot of just in her head… There was very little action and a lot of thought process.

All in all this was interesting. Harry and her son had a great relationship. The time they spend in the house was some my favorite parts of the book. I just wish there was a little more unsettled vibes here.

Christina Henry's "The House That Horror Built" promises a spine-tingling journey into the depths of terror, but ultimately delivers a mixed bag of frights and frustrations, earning a modest three-star rating.

The story itself gave more of a fiction vibe and not a horror vibe. The story of Harry the house cleaner seemed to overshadow anything creepy. It was a slow moving plotline that didn't come to a head until the very end, but by that point I was far from thrilled with finishing the book and really only did to tie up lose ends.

I love Christina Henry, but this story was not her finest. 3 out of 5 stars.

I've tried several, several times to get into this book, even making it 1/4 through and I still can't find the ability to care. I'm so sad, I had high hopes!

While the story definitely kept me intrigued with the 'Is it paranormal or all in their head?' question, I can't say I was invested. I like the reclusive horror director and the struggling single mom, but Harry's past is so glossed over after Gabe's birth. I was enjoying the flashbacks and getting to know her more and see her growth, but it literally just stopped at a point and felt kinda wasted. But I did enjoy Harry's relationship with Gabe in the present - there's a real camaraderie to make the best of the struggles they face without placing hardships or blame on the other. While I was interested in Javier's past and the struggles he had with his family, again, I felt like it was just glossed over and we really didn't get to spend time with him in the past as he's really struggling with his relationships within his family. But I have to say, the ending was the most disappointing for me, it rushed and didn't feel complete. But not in an open-ended kinda way, but in a let's end the story in the middle of a chapter way.

I think all the elements of this story are great, being a huge horror movie fan myself, but I wanted...more.

A retelling of Rebecca?! Say less, I was SOLD. Sadly, this just couldn't compare to the classic. Maybe that's more of a "me" problem because it's one of my top 5 books of all time. Many parts of this felt juvenile to me, there were a few good scary parts but nothing to really write home about. The writing is YA and that's not for me, especially when it comes to horror. I think I had my hopes too high and it fell short.

I loved all the creepy descriptions of the house from the movie souvenirs, to strange voices, things that move and bump in the walls it all set the perfect setting for this book to spook you. Harry wasn’t sure if what she was hearing, seeing, feeling was real or her imagination. The intensity just builds until you can’t wait to see what is behind the locked door.

Javier Castillo is one rich eccentric that likes to have his ego stroked. He now thinks he has found a replacement son in Gabe.

The ending that just shocked me as I thought I figured it out. The images of the end will freak you out and stick with you.

Need a fast pace,creepy book to make you scared of the sounds in the night-this is it!