The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
The Haunting of Moscow House is set in 1921, after the Bolshevik Revolution. In this novel we follow two sisters, Irina and Lili, whose family home, a once lush mansion in the heart of Moscow, has been taken over by a group of Boleshevik soldiers.
The remaining family members are banished to the attic living space of the home, even though many rooms in the lower levels remain vacant. Crammed in, frequently cold and hungry, it’s a huge transition for this once powerful family.
The sisters understand that the way they used to live is a thing of the past and they must adapt quickly to this new political landscape, or perish trying.
For its part though, this once stately home isn’t as adaptable and it certainly hasn’t forgotten the past.
Anxious to escape the haunted halls, the sisters end up getting jobs working for an American relief agency. This provides good pay, food, a place to escape during the day, as well as some potential love interests.
At night though, the house seems to be becoming increasingly unsettled. Unexplained things are happening, noises and apparitions. People are getting hurt.
Is the explanation supernatural, like ancestral spirits wrecking havoc, or is someone more corporeal to blame?
While this wasn’t necessarily to my tastes, I think for Historical Fiction fans who enjoy a potential Supernatural twist, this could work really, really well.
Nevertheless, I appreciated the direction the author took with this story and I’m glad I took the time to read it. I do have a lot of interest in this time period of Russian history, so having it focused around that was quite captivating.
I did feel a lot of empathy towards the remaining members of the Goliteva family, whose ages ranged from small children, who didn’t understand what was going on, to elder family members, who had lost everything they had previously cherished and enjoyed.
The situation in the city at that time, brought to life here by the author, did provide a lot to think about.
It made me think how I may have dealt with such upsetting and dire circumstances. It’s an uncomfortable thing to consider, but I appreciated how Olesya Salnikova Gilmore got my mind working.
Without giving too much away, in order to maybe spur more Horror Readers into picking this up, it does have a bit of an Occult bent to it, so if that is something that interests you, check it out.
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I did enjoy the atmosphere and the character work of this quite a bit. I would be interested in reading more from this author.