The House That Horror Built

By: Christina Henry

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

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.

©2024 Christina Henry (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"After reading The House That Horror Built, I brought the terror into my own home and now it won't leave. Christina Henry has me questioning every creak, every warping floorboard, every stray sound around my house and now I can't sleep at night. There's something in the walls of this novel and it watches you while you read."—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

“Henry captures the epic scale of the best horror movies and her passion for monstrosity comes through clearly.”—Publishers Weekly

"A delicious exploration into the monsters we idolize and the monsters we create. The House That Horror Built will leave readers wondering what lies behind the mask of their beloved horror auteurs..."—Carissa Orlando, author of The September House

poor mom...

yes I understand the mother is a single parent and the father was a a-hole, but the mother explains how she's not able to afford anything for her kid every other page. I guess she's a good mom for buying him a sundae instead of washing clothes? I understand that the mother worries about any purchase she makes but it gets annoying after the 12th time explaining it. She can only buy ground beef, uses quarters to buy a sundae, rides the bus, lets her kid eat the last pancake yet she had 3 already...I guess this can become a new horror subgenre, single parent/covid. If you want to experience what single parents dealt with during covid this book is for you.

Almost a DNF

I was mostly bored. I found the book dull and tedious. It is so different from how I felt about her other books. Th Alice Chronicles, Horseman, Near the Bone, Mermaid, The Ghost Tree and most especially Lost Boy. I loved them all. This one was almost my first DNF from Christina Henry.

One of my first issues with Harry's character was her inner dialog. I am not saying that a person who never completed their high school education cannot self educate. My incredulity comes from a person who works laborious jobs and has a child to care for and feed has such a mastery of language. How did the character pull that off on a diet of horror films?

Spoiler Alert:
The first time I found her comments believable was when she let go an F-bomb at that reporter

The allusion that Javier Castillo manipulated Harry's situation was not resolved. Was he who purchased the house causing the ultimate eviction. Was he who hired the trench-coated reporter? Also, I find it difficult to believe the police did not investigate the disappearance story or that a corrupt doctor was able to keep quiet for so many years.

All in all, I wish I had not read this. I have always awaited Christina Henry's books and would pre-order or purchase them just based on her authorship. That will no longer be the case. Of course I will still follow he to see what she writes next, I will however, be more discerning with my purchases.

Great performance. Good story. Predictable ending.

This was a well written story, but it isn’t as good as Christina Henry’s previous works - in my opinion. It might just be that she was trying something different - it’s always good to do that- and if it wasn’t for the ending, it would have been a more satisfying “read”. Maybe I have just come to expect the twists at the end of thriller books - but to have guessed almost exactly the ending was anticlimactic. There was one part I didn’t guess, but everything else was just what I suspected would happen.
Now, I don’t want to make it seem like it’s not a worthwhile listen - it is definitely worthwhile, Christina Henry is a great writer. But if you are expecting a work along the lines of the Alice series, or Red - it’s definitely a different feel!

Harry is hero material.

Thr steady character development and weaving of multiple stories simultaneously... Christina Henry does it again!

A Bit Creepy 👀

I love CH books, this was a fast quick read a bit creepy I just couldn’t put it down.

Enjoyable narrator, annoying MC

The main character was incredibly annoying. Complaining how she’s poor every other paragraph, complaining her employer’s the snob when she’s the one holding a grudge against him because he’s rich even when he offers to do favors for her. She’s so prideful she puts her pride first instead of the needs of her son. Talks about the pandemic every other paragraph. The book came out in 2024, enough already. All that to say, the narrator was great and engaging. But the plot had so much potential that went untapped.

Predictable & Oversold on Booktok

I really had high hopes for this due to online reviews. I was very let down. it was entertaining enough to finish but wish I didn't spend money on it.

meh

There is alot of niavety in the writing. It just feels very narrow-minded. I had to give up once it really got into just totally dogging on people who have religious convictions. also, it feels like it is written by someone who either has never had a teenager/been a parent and/or is fantasizing about a child being perfect without any real form of boundaries or discipline because apparently the 14yo in this book is just a perfect angel who never needs to be reprimanded for anything, who never lies about anything or pushes back against their parent in any way. I totally understand people have different experiences/perspectives but I mean.... I am a mom and know lots of moms and teens and this just feels like wishful thinking. not to mention they are in Chicago? It just didn't feel believable to me. there's also alot of clunky explanations or narration going on and some repeated information that was unnecessary. it isn't terrible... just I can't do the whole "religion and people who believe in Jesus are stupid".

gothic romance formula without the romance

Here are the highlights. 1. this is a slow burn and not much happens till the last 25% of the book. however don't expect much of a pay off. 2. the author writes about being a single mom in poverty but knows very little about it. the main character never applied for public housing or wic. 3. the author never fully explored the main characters trauma living with a super Christian conservative family. it is a bit of a waste actually and never ties into the main story.