Twenty years ago teenagers Clare, Abby and two other friends dared each other to go inside a local 'haunted' house, which had been the scene of a murder. They all went in, but Abby came out traumatized. And now she has attempted suicide - back at Octagon House.
Beneath the Stairs is hard to slot into a genre niche. There is definitely a horror element to the book, but it's done subtly and is very effective for that light hand. That being said, I mentally kept yelling "Don't go in the basement!" I'm going to let you discover what's in the basement, but it gave me the creeps.
The plot is actually character driven. The timeline flips from present to past as Fawcett explores family, the relationships between the four friends, coming of age and where they are today. Can you ever go home? How has what happened in the past shaped their lives? And where do they go from here? Well - it's back to the house.....
Beneath the Stairs is a slow burning, atmospheric tale - one that I quite enjoyed. I thought it was a really good debut. Fawcett's writing is easy to get caught up in.
I chose to listen to Beneath the Stairs. Carolina Hoyos was the narrator. She has such an interesting voice. It's low pitched with a hint of a gravelly tone. Her voice draws you in to listen. Her speed of speaking is again, just right for the character and the plot. She's easy to understand and enunciates well. She absolutely captures Fawcett's work with her voice. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I find myself drawn deeper into a book by listening. That was absolutely the case with Beneath the Stairs. Here for yourself - listen to an excerpt of Beneath the Stairs.
2 comments:
Sounds like a real horror story, one of those I never read. Glad you enjoyed it.
I didn't want to read it just before bedtime though Harvee!
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