I was drawn into the book by its cover, and the author didn't disappoint. The book is a slow burner, as it takes time to set the scene for the Drowning House, with trips back into the past required to get to know both Mrs Culpepper and her grandson Simon better through the eyes of the main characters, Leo and Melissa.

Mrs Culpepper watches Simon, Melissa and Leo as children as they play together during the summers on Marrowstone Island. As they get older, Leo and Melissa move away, but are drawn back when Simon calls Melissa to let her know Mrs Culpepper has died. When the duo arrive, Simon is missing, but a mysterious house has appeared, washed up on the beach.

Things go downhill quickly for the duo, who struggle to work together to find Simon whilst learning Mrs Culpepper was more than she seemed at first glance. All the whilst there is evil at hand...

Once things have been established, this horror/thriller (with an ode of fantasy too in my opinion) kicks off in earnest, and the book became unputdownable.

The author did a terrific job of not spoiling the plot and revealed key elements gradually throughout the novel, keeping suspense alive and the reader guessing.

I went for a 4* review here for two reasons:
1) I still had a few questions I wanted answered by the novel's conclusion
2) I found Leo and Melissa to be pretty unlikeable characters, even if they do come together as the book progresses

But overall, this is still a very solid book that won't take long to finish once you get into it, the suspense just keeps you reading. As a bed-time reader primarily, I stayed up way too late a few nights in a row just to get this book done, and it was worth it. Very keen to read more from this author.

This was such an interesting story. Never read anything like this before and that made it even more griping because I didn't quite know what to expect

What was THAAAT. What waaaasss thaaaaat. I really liked this story. It was a ride I didn't expect to go on. Wowwww. Thank you Netgalley,

This book has supernatural elements that makes it work both as a horror and thriller.

A house washes up on shore and literally frightens Mrs. Culpepper to death. She is accompanied with her nephew on the shore but he disappears after reaching out to two of his best friends. It is now up to these two friends to figure out what happens.

The tension builds throughout the book as littles clues from the past come to light. If you are a fan of thrillers with a supernatural element this book is for you.

This was fantastic. I loved every second and couldn’t put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I was really sold on this book by its enticing premise: a "House-Wreck" that's awesome.

However while overall the story is fairly solid - with vivid settings, and good scary scene composition, the plotting was a little weird - let me explain.

The original premise is fairly strong. Simon acts as our "MacGuffin" driving the characters Leo and Melissa to return to the isle and investigate his disappearance. Missing persons are a fairly common horror trope, as it gives a good excuse to keep MCs from noping out of scary situations and creates a lot of suspense.

At first the story seems like its going to be more character heavy, or at least is a slow burn on the horror elements and suspense - there are a lot of flashbacks, and for approximately 50% of the story we just follow the 2 MCs around doing relatively 'human/mainstream' actions: speaking to police and poking around the mysterious house.

There is nothing wrong with that, but I felt like the story transitioned to the supernatural horror and kind of just dropped the character elements? Or at least the character moments that remained felt kind of forced and just a bit irrelevant. For example at one point Melissa accuses Leo of wanting to abandon their search and the house(s) so he can sell them off as he is a real estate agent. He kind of jokingly reminds her that this isn't how life works just because he's an agent doesn't mean he can just randomly poach empty houses and the plot point doesn't really matter to the story. There are many just bickers a minor issues which create more of an awkward tension between the characters rather than anything dramatic. It was weird to me to reach the end of the story and realize I didn't really pick up anything about the characters other than getting entangled in this story.

Well that is other than Leo being fat? I didn't notice any mention of it beforehand but almost abruptly the narrator mentions that fat men have quite a lot of force in their movements and then Leo himself mentions how he's a "fat man" I don't think its meant to be funny exactly but I'm not really sure what its meant to be.

There are also very odd times when things happen that don't seem quite realistic (I don't mean the intentionally magic parts) there is a scene where the characters go to visit someone they'd just spoken to in a rest home are obliquely told the person passed away overnight - e.g. the staff gush about how talkative and positive the person had been before finally saying "oh they're dead" as if no-one might have immediately contacted the MCs or led with that info.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I can't speak to my final critiques without spoilers - there are a couple of really odd choices in the finale scenes of this book - one, is the MCs spend an inordinate amount of time discussing ways to make explosions. Not the worst use of page-time I suppose but it wasn't really relevant to anything significant to the development - e.g. most horror stories have an element of the characters need to resolve or change something about themselves to defeat the horrors - not just carefully plan their flammables.

Finally the supernatural stuff got a bit out of control by the end. After being relatively grounded for the first half - and then fairly well crafted ghosty the next 45%, the final scenes involve magical lightening throwing ghosts, and a TROLL of all things. It didn't really build up to that sort of thing.

Actually the final oddity for me is the decision to make the finishing scene a last flashback to the side-characters, perhaps explaining some of the mythos but again sacrificing page time to non character developed stuff.


Initially the book seemed to be like it was going to be about the potential traumas of youth and the pain of uncertainty when an old friend goes missing. A key example being Leo and Melissa struggle with how to deal with the conflict of hope and realism in searching for Simon. They want to be optimistic but also accept that he may be dead. Other than lamenting about this conflict however - this theme and others doesn't really develop further, its just page-time until the magic stuff happens!

It may seem like I didn't like The Drowing House - but it was a good read, just had some head scratching moments.

"The Drowning House" is a captivating and haunting horror-thriller that explores the lengths individuals will go to protect their loved ones.

Set against the backdrop of a violent storm that washes a mysterious house onto a remote Pacific Northwest beach, the story follows the heart-stopping event that leaves the only woman who understands its significance dead. With her grandson, Simon Culpepper, missing in the aftermath, two childhood friends, Melissa and Leo, reunite to search for answers on the isolated island.

Despite their strained relationship over the years, they are compelled to set aside old rivalries and grudges. In their quest to find and save Simon, they uncover chilling secrets about the sinister house and the man behind its creation, all while facing their demons on Marrowstone Island.

This gripping narrative weaves together elements of suspense, horror, friendship, and secrets.

Cherie Priest's writing style has a dark and profound quality, creating an atmosphere that is both eerie and immersive. As readers delve into this chilling world, they are immersed in a web of complex relationships and haunting circumstances.

While the pacing may starts slow, it builds up to a sudden rush of action that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

"The Drowning House" promises an enthralling tale filled with suspense, mystery, and a hint of the supernatural.

3/5

The Drowning House had such a cool concept, a creepy decrepit house suddenly shows up on the beach and the only person who knows what it means mysteriously dies at the same time. I was really hoping that this concept would hold up and be fleshed out but what was given didn’t feel very satisfying.

The story is pretty slow burn, paranormal atmospheric and a bit creepy. A combination I would normally really enjoy, but in this case the pacing was very off from what would have made this a good read. The beginning was super promising and very interesting, but it very quickly slowed to a crawl with very little progress. I really wish the middle section had more. It needed more mystery, more creepy, more info. Anything. I was so desperate to learn more that I got tired of waiting. And by the time the ending finally rolled around I was pretty indifferent about everything and no longer had much enthusiasm left. Honestly, I ended up skimming the last 20% just to get through it.

The characters are also quite grating. It worked in the beginning, a fun dynamic between friends/rivals with a complicated past and present, but it quickly devolved to squabbling and was just really annoying. I wish there was more to them by the end, some growth or maturity or something that let them change into something better.

The only thing that did work was the concept and a few small pieces along the way. I think there is something still there, it just needed to be refined and edited.

Overall the story did not live up to expectations which is a huge shame because it had such good promises, just not good execution.

This is a novel with supernatural elements that works as both a thriller and a horror novel.

A house washes up on shore on a small island during a storm. Mrs. Culpepper is a woman almost 100 years old and she seems to know what the house is and it frightens her literally to death right on the shore.

Her nephew is with her when it happens but he disappears after reaching out to his two long time best friends who live off the island.

Now it's up to these two friends to figure out what happened to him and why there's something malicious stalking them on this island. Along the way, there are many secrets to discover and the truth is something horrifying.

Shout out to NetGalley for my ARC of this book! This is the second book I was approved to read and review and I am excited to have been given this opportunity. That being said… this wasn’t my favorite novel. It was well written, Cherie did a stellar job of writing from the 3rd person. I enjoyed how each chapter jumped to a different persons perspective, and sometimes even a different point in time.. but that’s about all I was really enjoying towards the end. It was a verrrry slow burn (not literally though, lol that ending with the fireworks) and to be honest, I just don’t know if the explosive (Heh) ending really justified how slow and almost monotonous most of the book was. To be fair I was also expecting it to be more of a spooky thriller, and it ended up falling more into a dark fantasy vibe. Again, so grateful for the opportunity to read this! I would try another book from this author, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I’ve read many reviews that describe a book as “propulsive,” and I always understood that to mean they were fast moving. After reading THE DROWNING HOUSE, I have a whole new appreciation for the word. The characters in this book are literally propelled through the action of the last half of the book (which is of course fast-paced) and the reader is likewise propelled through the book’s pages. There are forces at work that keep the characters racing to what they hope will be a positive resolution while making it impossible for the reader to look away in spite of, or perhaps because of, the dread that seeps through the words.

The book moves back and forth from the present to a couple of decades ago when the main characters spent time as children on an island off the coast of Seattle, and eventually to many decades prior to that when forces were put into play that resulted in the horrors that those children, Leo and Melissa, now grown to adulthood, face. An unprecedented and violent storm takes place through partly natural and partly supernatural means as Leo and Melissa fight through the storm to save their island, and perhaps far more.

The writing is, as I said, propulsive. It is also incredibly atmospheric, immersing the reader in the isolation of the setting, the feel and sound of the storm, and the terror of the situation. The book is a sort of mashup of horror and thriller, and I think that works well. It gave me lots to think about as I attempted to sleep after finishing it. My one complaint about the book is the epilogue. It was unnecessary and added nothing to the reader’s understanding of the book’s events. I wish the author had left it out since, as the book’s final words, it cast a pall upon the experience of reaching the terrifying ending of the rest of the book.

This is a novel with supernatural elements that works as both a thriller and a horror novel.

A house washes up on shore on a small island during a storm. Mrs. Culpepper is a woman almost 100 years old and she seems to know what the house is and it frightens her literally to death right on the shore.

Her nephew is with her when it happens but he disappears after reaching out to his two long time best friends who live off the island.

Now it's up to these two friends to figure out what happened to him and why there's something malicious stalking them on this island. Along the way, there are many secrets to discover and the truth is something horrifying.

For the most part, this novel seamlessly puts together a mystery wrapped in supernatural terror while we get to know things that have happened in the past which will undoubtedly have consequence in the present.

I really liked how these little clues from the past would pop up and, as the characters get closer to the truth about the strange creepy house that just washed up on shore, the tension builds and the story takes us into even stranger directions.

I would say this is closer to a thriller than a horror novel. It has all the story beats and arcs you want from a good thriller and is easy to read and get into.

I recommend it for those who like a good mysterious blend of thriller and the supernatural.

If you are looking for a spooky, atmospheric, creepy read..this is it!

The characters were well fleshed out which can be hard to come by in a horror story. I loved the thriller aspect, as well. It had me flipping the pages that much quicker.

The atmosphere was what I loved most about this read.

Simon, Melissa, and Leo spent the summers growing up together around Simon’s grandmothers house, the ever present Mrs.Culpepper, on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. Years later, Melissa received a strange voicemail and email from Simon who stayed on the island to care for his grandmother. Mrs. Culpepper has died and Simon has gone missing. Melissa and Leo head to the island to find their childhood friend, but the mysteries of the house they spend so much time in are coming to light and creating danger to everyone on the island.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

Priest is back in top form with this spooky tale of childhood friends reunited by tragedy. A deeply atmospheric tale of witchcraft, ghosts, and climate change. Recommended!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for sharing an ARC in exchange for a review.

Cherie Priest’s The Drowning House has a lot in common with Stephen King’s writing. Namely: great character moments, eerie slow burn…and an ending that absolutely does not stick the landing.

I really enjoyed my time with Leo and Melissa, and the weird little pocket of cosmic horror Priest has crafted on Marrowstone Island. The flashbacks with the little bits of supernatural spookiness sprinkled in were very effective. Priest’s prose does a fantastic job of painting the island in moody, rainy greys.

The Drowning House’s tone is certainly deliberate, but very rarely did I feel like it was dragging. It’s surprising then that the ending felt so rushed. I wouldn’t have wanted every single aspect of Gunnar’s powers or motives spelled out, but it was all so vague that it deflated the climax. The fate of Simon is left to the reader’s imagination, which felt like a missed opportunity for some great horror. The story also just kind of…ends. I don’t know if this was meant as a sequel setup but it’s very abrupt.

Despite its flaws, this a solid horror novel. If this turns out to be the start of a series, I’ll happily read a sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of "The Drowning House"! My review is unbiased and honest!

Cherie Priest is a good author. She paints a creepy picture with a great backstory that's unlike other books that I've read. She's just not the author for me. She is a little bit wordier than I prefer, so I had a hard time getting through this because she kept the story simmering instead of letting it boil too hot.

If you like a good mystery with a little bit of a creep factor (not much, imo as a horror reader), you may really enjoy this one. I was a little disappointed at the ending-- but it all works out okay.

Either way, it wasn't my favorite book I've read this year but it is well written, so I'd recommend to mystery fans. It releases in July of 2024!

On Marrowstone Island, best friends Simon Culpepper, Melissa Toft and Leo Alvarez spend every Summer together. Three "Goonies" who enjoy fireworks, swimming and shooting slingshots around Grandmother Culpepper's property. After Leo nearly drowns, he begins to see strange things in the shadows and hear faint cries at night. Mrs. Culpepper knowingly assures him they are harmless.

Years later, Mrs. Culpepper is found dead and Simon is missing. With only a cryptic email from Simon to go by, Leo and Melissa return to Marrowstone. A whole house has been washed up on the beach and shockingly no one pays it any mind. It's no storm wreck, but a sign that something or someone has returned. No longer naive children, long forgotten conversations begin to take on new meaning. Together, Leo and Melissa learn that Mrs. Culpepper had an estranged sister, Alcesta, whose mysterious, power-hungry husband might be behind all of it.

The premise is what really grabbed my attention, however I was left a bit disappointed. Leo and Melissa are loyal to a fault, and that's admirable, but their undying love for Simon seems forced. Leo and Melissa have been pining for him for over 20 years and still bicker over him. As far as we know, Simon is an ordinary guy, so why was he so extraordinary to them? Because we learn so little about Simon, both Leo and Melissa come off as self-centered with only some character growth at the end.

Aunt Alcesta had the potential to be a really compelling character, like her sister Charlotte, but her role was to simply provide the exposition. But how did Charlotte, Alcesta and Alcesta's husband come to obtain such hidden occult knowledge? How exactly did Simon disappear? The darkest parts were far too brief. I definitely needed more of Simon's family history to fully piece this one together.

Thank you again, Poisoned Pen Press for approving my request for "The Drowning House"!

I have a fraught relationship with Cherie Priest's horror novels: I love every premise and I love her richly developed, lived-in worlds and characters. The plots...tend to misfire for me, and this book was no different. It's a very slow novel, and that really worked for me for the first half, even though 99% of the time that would be my chief complaint. But Priest's worlds are so cozy to dive into, so I didn't mind at all. Once the plot engine fully kicked in, though, I kind-of hated it? The writing became repetitive (this book should have been WAY shorter imo), and the story itself was a bit childish and sparsely developed. So it was a profoundly mixed bag (as was 'The Toll' from the same author).

I wanted to love this book but it fell flat for me.

The beginning started out great but I quickly lost interest in the messy middle, I did enjoy the last part of the book. Essentially, beginning and end were great, middle not so much.

With that said, I would still read this author again and I would recommend this book because it has great bones and others may quite enjoy the story.