This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Buzzwords: Horror debut. Southern Gothic.
Quick Set-Up: A young black woman leaves 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans. It’s not what she expected…
This Cursed House was high on my priority list and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the atmosphere that Sandeen created and found the plot well-developed, as well as intriguing.
The Duchon family, the people that hire our MC, Jemma, are let’s say, interesting, to learn about. As the Reader, you have a sort of fly on the wall perspective of so many dark family secrets being dug up; like a cornucopia of secrets. It’s quite a trip and I feel like it’s gonna stick with me.
This is a heavy story. Don’t expected a light-hearted haunting with this one. It weighs on you, but with that, I feel like the author was successful. It should weigh on you. The themes explored within these pages aren’t easy, but they are well worth the read and attention.
Also, it will keep you on our toes. I was full of questions throughout my time reading this. That’s one of the aspects I really loved. Each chapter left me wanting to know more. It kept me going and invested.
The author was smart with how she laid out this story. It really doesn’t take much time before you discover the true reason behind this family hiring Jemma. Yes, it’s no random hire, and I liked that. I’m glad she didn’t draw it out, because it left so much more time to explore this family.
Jemma is thrust into this new circumstance, which she definitely didn’t expect and I liked going along with her as she learned about this family and their dark history.
There’s so much going on in the house too. It says it all right in the title. Take that literally.
Overall, I loved the journey I went on with Jemma in this one and I also really appreciated the dark, unsettling atmosphere that Sandeen created. The historical aspects were also really well done and I loved the New Orleans backdrop.
I actually would love to see more stories with Jemma as our MC. I definitely think there is more room to grow with her character. She really came into her own here, and I feel like she can use what she learned to help others. I would def pick up all the books if this were to turn into a series!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a great debut.
I’m looking forward to more from Del Sandeen!