14

3,5 stars

So the thing is, I'm generally not a horror fan. I guess I love starting my reviews with being honest about my not-so-nice characteristics, eh? But hey, that's life, I get things out of the way. I am not a horror fan. What I like is suspense and mystery, so I guess this book was more up my alley than for people who enjoy serial killer clown and cannibal incestuous hillbilly clans.

Nate Tucker is an (I assume) early thirties guy in LA, working some mind-numbing, dead end tech job, having no money and no girlfriend. Generally not a happy existence, eh? One day he gets recommended some place to rent in a huge, old, creepy-ass building for good money and as he has nothing going for him, he takes it. But as any person would have done, he gets suspicious when roaches are bright green, apartments are random size and shape, some doors are permanently locked and his building manager dude not only dodges questions, but gets pissed. In his defence, as the story progresses, he discovers that a lot of tenants have noticed things already. So they start investigating.

Man, there were some really cute little connections with real life! I enjoy that. I enjoy authors taking real life facts and incorporating them to make the story actually seem more real. To me running to the nearest device to go online and do some research on some name or place. Do it more often, I will buy your book forever. Like... if you ever write a book and you... care about the opinion of one random weirdo. Eh.

Another thing I personally love is a good cast of people who are all kinds of crazy. Yes, I want to see people who would NEVER hang out in real life fight doom together. It can possibly turn into a stupid quirk-fest, or it can go this way and be awesome fun. Retired super awesome cool guys, artists, tech people, carpenters. Without going down the rabbit hole, I love this kind of a “diversity”, the kind that means different point of views in skills, strengths and weaknesses, ways of dealing with issues to form a team I can root for. Skin deep stuff doesn't cut it to me, sorry. But whatever.

What made me deduct some stars was... the writing, though. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't some horrible, nonsensical prose that makes you want to claw your eyes out, but the thing about mystery and suspense is that it can be really supported and taken to a whole new level with some kickass writing. Here... I was missing that thing. Sometimes the descriptions felt really pragmatic and lacked that uneasy feeling that would have made this an at least a 4 star read.

Another slight issue was the end of the book. It was a bit rushed, a bit abrupt. Some things could have been explained a bit better, with more inventive tools. Again, not the worst thing I've ever seen, I just can't say I was 100% pleased with it.

I wouldn't want to call it disappointing, but some polishing here or there would have done good. Maybe I'll try to look for something similar. It was actually a pretty pleasant read. Still, I'll keep looking for something with a similar concept, but a bit more of a polished execution. I would definitely recommend it as a light read, something fun and a bit of a palate cleanser between long series.

So long and keep the monsters at bay!