This was so weird but in a good way! It was an interesting spin on a haunted house story with a great setting. I especially enjoyed the flashbacks. They were used very well to add context to the story.

If you're looking for a book with a creepy atmosphere and an intriguing plot, then you should definitely read The Drowning House.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’m a fan of any sort of magic that takes place in the real world and this was no different. Thoroughly enjoyed every part of this. Thank you for the ARC.

Cherie Priest’s prose and pacing stand out in THE DROWNING HOUSE, a gothic horror novel for all seasons.
THE DROWNING HOUSE by Cherie Priest

An ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. THE DROWNING HOUSE was published on 23 July 2024.

When a house washes up on the beach of Marrowstone, an island in the Pacific Northwest, there is only one person who knows anything about it. But Mrs. Culpepper dies of a heart attack at the sight of it. Her grandson, Simon, is left to pick up the pieces. Except, when his old friends arrive to help him, he, too, is gone and Melissa and Leo have more than one mystery to solve.

Beach, please!

Cherie Priest, who has her feet planted firmly both in horror and SFF places, seamlessly combines genres in her latest supernatural Scandinavian gothic horror novel. At the heart of it lies Marrowstone Island, a real island near Seattle with less than 1000 inhabitans. Priest’s opulent, rich writing style imbues the fictional version with life and deep-seated roots. At the same time, her voice is close to meme-ish in places which can be jarring at first but ultimately fits the 40-something protagonists of the story and their backgrounds.

Another of her strengths are the pacing and use of tension throughout The Drowning House. The changes between tension and relief are well-balanced, allowing both hard-boiled and easily scared readers to breath without the story falling into any unintentional lulls. Priest also jumps between timelines with ease, telling the fractured story in a surprisingly straightforward way. The only thing not quite holding up might be the ending, specifically the real-life consequences and police scrutiny thereof. But that doesn’t impact the enjoyability of The Drowning House as a whole in any meaningful way.

Rating

Priest’s prose drew me in like the current of a particularly vengeful body of water. The Drowning House – both story and building – breathes from page one. It clashes somewhat with the chapters of modern-day Melissa and Leo who read much more “terminally online”. And although that makes sense and adds to the fish-out-of-water aspect of their story, it also took me a while to shake of that kind of grating feeling. That is probably the main reason why I settled for three stars in the end. Apart from that, The Drowning House really is a novel for all seasons and works as both beach and spooky Halloween read.

Spooky mystery with folklore fantasy elements that is a perfect rainy day read. On a dark and stormy night, on a secluded island off the coast of Washington, a mysterious house washes up on the shore waking Mrs. Culpepper from her slumber. In a burst of energy and rage she heads to the beach only to be found dead by her grandson Simon. In the aftermath of the events Simon contacts one of his childhood friends and disappears. Melissa and Leo have spent every summer with the Culpepper’s exploring the island, so when Simon can’t be found in the wake of his grandmother’s death, they know they must find him. Not always on the best of terms the two butt heads constantly, but they can both agree that something strange is happening on the island, and the house on the beach is probably to blame. Cherie Priest has deftly built tension throughout this whole story, balancing real world mysteries with the spooky and unexplained. Your heartrate will be up while reading but there is a resolution that’s worth reading to get to. The coming-of-age friendship anchors the story and makes it feel like a 1980’s horror movie, with the right amount of secrets and bonding to make the scary story feel warm and inviting. The setting is perfect in both its isolation and its “dark and stormy night” vibes you would expect to find in a scary story. I enjoyed the characters and their development throughout the story, but the strong-willed sisters are what definitely made me love the story.

I really enjoyed this one, unsurprisingly since Princess X is one of my all time favorites and she’s had several others I’ve enjoyed as well. There were some aspects I wanted more from, but all in all it was a good ride.

Melissa, Leo and Simon were childhood friends. Now Melissa has received an urgent message from Simon informing her that his grandmother has died under mysterious circumstances. She and Leo rush to help Simon, only to find that Simon has disappeared and a house has somehow managed to wash ashore near Simon’s house.

This was very tepid horror, and only got mildly exciting at the end. The first part of the book switches back and forth between the present mystery and early incidents. I was first frustrated by the lack of anything interesting happening in the childhood chapters. Then I realized that nothing was really happening in the present chapters either. An occasional spooky clue just wasn’t enough for me. It was an interesting premise, but don’t expect thrills.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Drowning House by Cherie Priest is a captivating and atmospheric novel that blends family secrets, history, and a bit of Southern gothic flair. The story is set in Galveston, Texas, and Priest does an amazing job of bringing the town’s stormy, mysterious past to life. The main character, a photographer named Ada, returns to her hometown and quickly finds herself caught in a web of long-buried mysteries.

I loved the way Priest built the tension throughout the book. The writing is beautifully descriptive, making it easy to picture the old houses, the sea, and the eerie mood of the story. The characters feel real and complex, especially as Ada uncovers more about her own past and the secrets surrounding her.

What would you do if a dilapidated house came ashore and landed on your private beach.? The house is eerie and reeks of ghostliness vibes. Simon, who lives with his grandma, finds the house after a storm. His grandmother has gone down to the beach where he finds her deceased. Frightened, he calls his two best friends from childhood and asks them to return to their old haunts. But, when they get there, Simon is nowhere to be found. He leaves all his personal belongings in the house as if he has vanished into thin air. His friends, Melissa and Leo frantically search for him, to no avail. Amidst this, strange things begin to happen in the house. Pandora's box has now been opened and Melissa and Leo find themselves trying to save each other.
This book is good and I will read others by this author. The concept of the house is creepy and it adds an extra level to the origins. It is an atmospheric horror that keeps you wondering "What next". You are routing for Melissa and Leo the entire time they are on the island, hoping they can find Simon or escape without harm.
The story starts as a slow burn and ends up with an action-packed fiery ending that will leave you pleased

So, so eerie! I wasn't sure what was going on for a lot of this - a mysterious house washes up on a beach, a character dies, another character disappears!? So much happening to set everything off, and even though I felt a little unsettled and unsure of my footing along the way, I LOVED THE RIDE!

I really enjoyed the mystery and the spooky atmosphere of The Drowning House! I think this is a great recommendation for a late summer, going into spooky season read!

I gave it 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

A chilling and creepy book that was a pleasure to read as well. It had me hooked and I enjoyed this one until I turned the last page. It was full of eerie twists and turns, and kept me entertained throughout. I recommend this one.

3.5 rounded up

I first read Cherie priest over 10yrs ago when I first stumbled into steam punk and devoured BONESHAKER

So imagine my happiness when I find her now writing creepy spooky seaside horror!

Drowning house is a very atmospheric novel, Priests writing just has a way of transporting you right into the heart of her novels. I loved the setting of the drowning house, and the snippets of childhood memories.

There’s nothing like some small town horror and mysterious old women

This was wonderfully atmospheric. I love reading any book set in the PNW, because it is a character in itself. This book was fast paced and it sucked me in. I couldn’t get enough.

A creepy house washes up onto shore. A woman drops dead from shock on the beach. Her grandson leaves a very brief and ominous message about her passing with his estranged childhood bestie. She is urged to return back to the place where she spent most of her childhood days. Only to feel betrayed upon arrival when she finds that he is nowhere to be found. She begins her hunt to find out where he is and what actually happened making her return a vicious game of digging up the past and piecing everything together. Only to unbury hidden secrets containing the most unexplainable power.

Ummmm...Expect things to get weird, like really fast (I mean a house wreck, have you ever heard of such a thing?) Beliefs do have to be suspended momentarily here and there, but that is one part of the plot that I found hugely intriguing.

You build a closeness with these characters, as you do experience flashbacks of their past while focusing on the present day. You get to see the good, bad and the ugly parts of their lives. Really lifting their personalities right off the page.

Not gonna lie It's a slow burn for sure! Much of the intensity and excitement doesn't really take place until the last 25% of the plot. Which I can totally see why this one wouldn't be for everyone because despite the uniqueness and intensity of the plot you would expect to get things moving a little more quickly, but it does unfortunately move at a snail like pace. But when that very intense, very suspenseful ending arrives be prepared to fall into a state of shock yourself.

With all that said I had a great time with this one. It's not an all-time favorite but I didn't hate it either. I have found myself thinking back to the uniqueness of the plot numerous times and I can truly say I've read nothing quite like it before.

Thank you to Cherie Priest ,Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the advanced invitation to be one of the early readers to visit the Drowning House.

The Drowning House is the perfect kind of horror for people who love thrillers but think horror might be a bit too scary for them, as it’s kind of a blend of the two genres. This was my first book of Cherie Priest’s and now I want to go devour her backlog 😍!

Set in the Pacific Northwest on a small isolated island, we return after the disappearance of Simon, and watch as the other two childhood friends Melissa & Leo attempt to find out where he is. What they discover is far darker than they ever imagined, as they put old grudges behind them to stop the evil coming to the island.

The Drowning House is rich in atmospheric horror, folkloric vibes, and a haunting story. The characters are well drawn out, and the story will carry you away with the tide! Highly recommend this one for your Spooky Season TBR, or if you’re in the mood for a good read.

This book is not advertised correctly on Netgalley. I would not have agreed to review it had I known it was supernatural. Please fix this!

This book was unusual and fun. I wanted more of a horror vibe, but I did enjoy the mystery aspect. I most appreciated the complex characters and the Gothic vibe. A good book to get you out of a slump.

Absolutely loved this book. The title threw me in and the cover. Imagine that house washing up from the ocean. Pretty amazing concept something that you wanna find out more about in this book. I wasn’t disappointed this book had everything a thriller should have. The concept of writing the narrator everything just made it wonderful. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for providing this, copy of the audiobook

A haunted house full of secrets, magic and mystery. This was a bit excentric and a bit slow for my tastes. The premise started out intriguing. A house washes up on the shore after some mysterious deaths of the owner of the land. And then the weird stuff starts to happen. I really didn't understand the ending or the reason behind the mystery of the house. But otherwise, a great friendship and some old weird magic lore.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy.

Was immediately pulled into this book by the blurb however did not end up loving the authors writing style unfortunately, made for a slower read and the characters weren't all the likeable but I did enjoy the story line itself. I mean who doesn't love the idea of a house with an evil personality?