Time is supposed to heal all wounds, but in Cherie Priest's The Drowning House, the passing of time and a particularly dark and stormy night may prove that not only are some injuries too deeply embedded to go quietly, but also that home is not always where the heart is. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy to review.

For anyone who has visited Washington State, it's no surprise that the inciting action of The Drowning House is adverse weather. What is surprising, though, are the events and revelations that follow. A decayed, rotting mess of a house returns to Marrowstone Island's shore, although "house" may be a generous term; from the beginning, readers are told point-blank that Tidebury House was never one to provide shelter from a storm. So, when Simon Culpepper soon vanishes without a trace, the mystery house is the least of his estranged childhood friends' worries―that is, until all signs indicate that its origins and his fate may not be so unconnected or coincidental at all.

Priest, the author of works such as Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Grave Reservations, is known for testing the waters when it comes to spookier subjects. This time, she also delves into the complexities of time and the havoc it can wreak on a friendship. Thanks to bone-deep grudges and a classic rivalry, it's hard to tell whether Melissa and Leo were ever really friends, or maybe frenemies at best. But, to their credit, they do come through in the clutch and band together for Simon's sake. The result is a contentious push-and-pull that underscores the overarching plot in a way that will satisfy those who enjoy a good enemies-to-something-else trope. Their flaws and even the occasional bout of pettiness add just enough levity and normal drama to a tale rife with tension and darkness, giving the audience minute distractions from what lurks at the core of the narrative.

As both a reader and a writer, I was drawn to Priest's overall style and flow as much as I was to the story itself. The Drowning House rides in on a gentle wave despite the turbulent situation that is actually being depicted on the page; that wave doesn't retreat, though. It crests over and over again, and just when readers will think it's going to finally pound the sand with everything it's got, it'll surely drag them under with another unexpected, sinister twist. It represents the epitome of ebb and flow in literary fiction, and the author is a master at infusing pretty words and poetic exposition with grim connotations and grisly anticipation.

Atmospheric and chilling, eerie and heartfelt: for those who love a good thriller and are curious enough to dip their toes into the shallower end of the horror genre, The Drowning House is definitely one new title to add to your summer TBR list.

The Drowning House
Written by Cherie Priest
Published by Poisoned Pen Press
Released Date July 23, 2024

I Love Stephen King and now there is a new author in my I love category….Priest is certainly a mastermind when it comes to mystery/thrillers. I could not read it fast enough. I honestly wasn’t sure what sub genre it was going to be ie paranormal etc. What it did turn out to be was something that I had not expected. A house turns up mysteriously on an island after a violent storm. The elderly woman who lived closest to where the house washed up has a heart attack on the beach. To make things worse, her grandson, Simon Culpepper, disappeared and while people looked for him, he was never found. His childhood friends, Melissa and Leo, return to look further but what they find will haunt them. Truly terrifying this book contains haunting twists and turns with characters that are very well developed with issues that come alive as you read this book. I PROMISE that you will LOVE this book as well as the author. Run, run, run to the nearest bookstore and get your copy today. You won’t regret this one.


5+++ stars


Thank you to Netgalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me a copy to read in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I love me some haunted house stories or houses that are evil.
Childhood friends Melissa, Leo and Simon are reunited when Melissa receives a voicemail and email from Simon. His grandmother passed away but it was like something scared her to death. He asks them to come but then Simon goes missing. They go to the island to find Simon and also learn about the house that got washed ashore the night he disappeared and his grandmother passed.
I loved the premise but it brought in some fantasy aspects that didn’t match. I also struggled to connect with the characters.
I still enjoyed this read and if you have it on your TBR- give it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book solely for the cover then I read the blurb and thought this was gonna be a good one. I was a little worried about the horror part because I don't read horror books. However in my opinion this book was not scary even in the slightest. I actually found it boring. It did have its moments but I just couldn't get into it. I skimmed the last 10 chapters and still got nothing out of it.

I believe everyone should make their own opinions after reading.

The Drowning House

Any time there’s a return to childhood memories in the form of adult reflecting, I’m intrigued. Especially if it’s got a supernatural theme and The Drowning House has this in abundance along with a strong mystery and an isolated island setting.

The beginning starts off with a bang – a mysterious house washes up on the beach in the middle of a dark stormy night and there’s both a death and a disappearance. Simon, the vanished, manages to get off one voicemail to a close childhood friend, who along with another childhood friend, arrive on isolated Marrowstone Island to find out just what happened to Simon.

This is such a rich atmospheric story – a bit of a slow-burn - and working through the chapters, slowly putting the pieces together was a fun puzzle to put together. I did not see the ending coming and I felt like it tied things up really nicely!

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for this gifted DRC!

A sudden death, a static voice message, a missing friend. Three friends grew up together on a small island. They are adults now, have drifted apart, until one reaches out to bring them both back. The grandmother who cared for them all each summer has passed away. But when the 2 friends come back, the one who called them is missing and they aren't sure what's going on.

This is a slow burn. The story takes quite a few chapters to get going. It gives some past scenes, to tie the three kids together, and it gives more context to the present. The story doesn't really get going until at least half way. From there, though, it does get a pretty good clip going and feels like a race to the conclusion.

But the conclusion was a bit of a let down for me. And I never grew on the 3 main characters. I knew little of Simon and found Melissa completely unlikable (right from that first chapter and I never found her be redeemed) and Leo's hunger to sell the house was just ew. I did find the house creepy and, if it had stuck closer to there, definitely would have liked it more.

If you like creepy houses with runes and locked doors, then you might just love this one. I think it just didn't work for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

From the moment that creepy house washed up on shore, I was hooked!

When Leo and Melissa arrive on the island to look for Simon they have no idea what they have just walked into the middle of. Simon is gone, his grandmother is dead, and a mysterious house is washed up on the beach not far from Simons's house. The mysterious waterlogged house gives immediate vibes that something is wrong, not only because it seems to have washed up on shore almost completely intact, but walking into the house you feel like someone is watching you.

As Melissa and Leo investigate Simon's disappearance they uncover deep family secrets and a tragedy that took place on the island many years before.
I loved the vibes this story gave from beginning to end. It was eerie, haunting, and thrilling in all the right places. Throughout the whole story I was waiting for the moment we would find out the truth of what happened to Simon and what this other house has to do with it. And when it was all revealed I was not disappointed.

I will definitely be reading more Cherie Priest books in the future!!!

DNF at 70%. I really, really tried to like it, but essentially nothing interesting has happened. I also can’t figure out what type of book this: thriller, horror, magical realism?

Just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it’s not for you!

Thanks to the NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced copy.

This one was interesting, but in the best way. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this one after reading the synopsis, but I highly encourage everyone reading this to check it out.
Not only did I love the overall Mystery and creation of the house, but this story was truly unsettling and addicting. I really enjoyed it!

Difficult to define but easy to enjoy, this book offers something to readers to horror, thrillers and drama. I loved the way in which the author built the characters, especially the relationships between the three childhood friends. Dark and intriguing, the author’s style and use of language is absolutely compelling.

I really loved this story. It was super creepy and went way beyond the typical haunted house story. I also really liked the addition of the Scandinavian folklore. Add in a taste of T. Kingfisher and you have The Drowning House. It’s interesting because there really weren’t that many characters. It was mostly Melissa and Leo, yet so much happened in the story! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I felt like I was there in the story. Cherie Priest absolutely has a gift for spooky writing, so if that’s your thing, go get this book!

Huge thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Drowning house is a strong and propulsive horror novel, perfect for a summer poolside or beach read. The atmosphere in this book is thick as the northwestern fog, and I felt the damp and the dark and the pounding rain throughout.

When Melissa gets a frantic email from her childhood friend Simon that his grandmother has passed away, she hurries out to comfort him. Except when she gets to his grandmother's house, she finds her friend missing, and a mysterious new house washed on shore. Where did it come from? What happened to Simon. The answer to both questions is definitely nothing good, that's for sure.

Like many horror novels, once the nature of the threat becomes real, this one loses some of its magic, but I still very much enjoyed reading it, and it was cool to see all the dominos that Priest had carefully set up through out the first half pay off. We spend a lot of time with the environment and our two main characters, but there's a nice cast of supporting characters who I enjoyed so much I wish we could have spent more time with!

A worthy addition to your summer reading stack for readers who enjoy Lovecraftian inflected horror. I'd recommend for fans of Model Home, The Hacienda, or The Ballad of Black Tom.

I received an advance review copy in exchange for this honest review.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Drowning House by Cherie Priest from Net Galley & Poisoned Pen Press in order to read and give an honest review.

Simon Culpepper watches his one-hundred-year-old grandmother flee into the night while a violent storm rages. When he finally catches up with her on the beach, he finds her body, it appears she died from sheer fright. Further down the beach he also finds the shell of a large house that has been violently propelled ashore. In desperation Simon reaches out to his two oldest and closest childhood friends, two who cherished his grandmother as much as he did. Melissa receives both a silent voice mail and an email from Simon telling them about his grandmother’s death requesting her and Leo’s help. Melissa and Leo head out to the Island only to find that Simon has gone missing and has left no clues behind.

The chapters jump back and forth from Melissa and Leo’s POV and through glimpses of the past that tell a story that spans decades with crumbs that unveil the truth which intertwines, power, ancient Nordic magic, missing boys, and the deepest darkest family secrets.
A fan of Cherie Priest, I was not disappointed with this latest offering, she has created a novel to rival those of Stephen King and Dean R. Koonz. The Drowning House is a brilliantly written, cleverly plotted supernatural horror which wraps up with an epic, nail-biting battle. The characters are well-written, multifaceted, and realistically flawed, which, in my opinion, only makes them seem more authentic.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and found it to be an atmospheric, chilling, dark, creepy, and briskly paced horror novel which I devoured in one sitting. I highly recommend it.

*Thank you to Poisoned Press for the Arc**

This book is about Melissa, Leo and Steve as adults and kids. They have to be "friends" again after so long since The Drowning House appeared on the beach. This is also told in 2 different time periods.

The chapters are short and move quickly. I wondered what was going and it was different and interesting. It kept me thinking the whole time.

I enjoyed it and can't wait to read more by this author.

3.5✨/5 - rounded up

Like many others, the blurb about this book made me hit "request" SO FAST on NetGalley. It sounded so different with its "house wreck" that washes up and whatnot...

Honestly, I try to read fewer than 350 pages when possible because horror or thrillers should be able to tell a story within that page range. I made an exception with this one at over 400 pages and I feel like it could have been as impactful (or more) with about 100 fewer pages.

The overall story was great and quite honestly went in a direction I was NOT expecting and I always love when the seemingly "normal" story throws in a bit of the paranormal. Make sure to read the epilogue as it is a bit of a prequel that gives a little bit more insight into the house's history.

As always, thank you to NetGalley, Cherie Priest, and Poisoned Pen Press for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in just a few days. The story line was very intriguing. For fans of thrillers with a touch or magic or supernatural storylines this is a book for you. I did feel it took a little bit to pick up but even at its slowest I still wanted to keep reading. As I look back at the book as a whole I find that most storylines were wrapped up pretty neatly! I felt there were a few moments that I don’t understand or thought might be slight plot holes but not enough to drop my opinion of the book. More so I myself had a problem suspending my disbelief not a problem with the book.

I thought the characters were interesting and had a wide range of character types. The setting is definitely perfect for a summer thriller or a beach vacation read.

I’d rate it 3.5 out of 5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Drowning House isn’t just your typical haunted house story. There are two houses with mysterious pasts. One has been resting on its foundation for decades. The other one washes up on the beach with no easy explanation for how it got there.

The Drowning House is a must read thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. Friendships are tested, memories are questioned, and nothing is certain.

I loved this book. It’s the perfect summer read. Many thanks to @poisonedpenpress and @skullsandpinkflamingos for offering an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the book #TheDrowningHouse by #CheriePriest. This book is about a house that washes a shore and Simon disappears. Two of his friends, Melissa and Leo go out searching to find him. Along the way, they have many obstacles and paranormal things happening to them. How did this house wash away and can they find Simon?

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and author Cherie Priest for this arc!

Childhood friendships, dark secrets, lots of crazy - creepy stuff, suspense and a big ol’ freaky house that just washes up on shore from the ocean. WHA the WHA?

This horror / thriller is a super slow burner of a story … until it isn’t! The author does a great job character building and setting the stage with lots of flashbacks and smallish reveals before you get fully dropped into the hot mess of present day … where the action really picks up as MCs Leo & Melissa work together to fight supernatural forces, right the wrongs of the past, find their friend who has disappeared and oh ya, survive . The atmospheric setting is perfectly eerie and the suspense factor is enough to keep pages flippin’ cuz ya just gotta find out what in the heck is going on! It’s a longish book, but didn’t feel like long ... it flowed nicely and kept me engaged all the way through!

I would have enjoyed maybe a shocker or a twist and maybe a few more questions answered at the end … but overall, a solid story that I ate right up!

Have you ever seen a shipwreck up close? How about a housewreck? A literal house that washed up ashore?? I haven’t seen both, but it would be fascinating and also scary to see one!

The Drowning House is a housewreck that suddenly appeared out of nowhere on a violent and stormy night. Mrs. Culpepper who lived nearby died after seeing it and her grandson Simon disappeared shortly after, but not before leaving a voicemail and an email to his childhood friend Melissa, who in turn called Leo (their other friend) for help. Both will need to set aside their differences if they want to find answers and solve the mystery surrounding the drowning house and their missing friend.

This is a unique kind of haunted house story. I love the sinister background with atmospheric setting, plus the friendship among the 3 friends, and even the constant bickering between Melissa and Leo. The book is a mix of horror and fantasy with mystery thrown in — a perfect weekend read that kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. Thank you @poisonedpenpress for my digital ARC.