The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Christina Henry is one of those authors whose latest releases I always anticipate. I don’t love them all, some definitely work better than others, but what I really appreciate is how varied her stories are and the risks she’s willing to take.
I feel like a lot of authors, including many of my favorites, have a very distinct style, some may even say formula, for knocking out novel after novel. For Henry, I feel like even her style varies depending on the story she is developing.
Regardless of my final feelings on any of her books, I am always impressed with her breadth of ideas and ability to create such rich stories again and again.
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart will stand out as one of my favorites from her in terms of how memorable it is and how much I have continued thinking about it after completion. While I didn’t love all aspects of this story, particularly towards the end, it truly got inside my heart.
In this story, set in a Chicago neighborhood, we have the typical set-up of a creepy house at the end of the street. We all know one of these houses. There are local stories about it, usually involving terrible things that have happened there. Kids either avoid it, or dare each other to go inside.
That’s what happens in this case. When Jessie’s little brother, Paul, is annoying her, she thoughtlessly dares him to go inside, which he does with two of his friends.
Unlike his friends though, Paul never comes back out. Upon searching, he’s completely disappeared. It’s like the abandoned house has actually consumed him.
Wracked with guilt, we follow Jessie, in the aftermath of this terrible day that truly shattered her family unit. Even as Jessie grew up, she never left the street though, never giving up hope that she could one day find out the truth of what happened to her baby brother.
As the years pass, the house continues to be a menace to the neighborhood. I loved when Jessie really started digging into the past of the house, and trying to figure out the evil that lays at the heart of it.
In fact, there were many aspects of this that I loved and appreciated, but a few others that I didn’t care for as much. Most specifically, for me the concluding portions felt too simplified in their resolution and quite anticlimactic after the great build.
It’s also a heavy story. I’m not saying that as a judgement. I love a grief-focused Horror story. I just want to prepare unsuspecting Readers, who may be anticipating a straight, fun-filled Haunted House tale.
There’s a lot going on with Jessie and her family. Her relationship with her parents, it’s not great. None of them ever really healed from Paul’s disappearance, so there’s some pretty toxic interactions going on amongst the three of them. Jessie was able to find solid relationships outside of her home though, and I really liked the found family elements Henry included.
Additionally, the atmosphere, mystery and descriptions of the house were very well done. Though ending rubbed me the wrong way, overall it’s a great read.
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Christina Henry is an incredible talent and I will continue to look forward to everything she writes in the future!