A review by nzlisam
The House on Cold Hill by Peter James

3.0

Had all the makings of an excellent ghost story, right up until the ending ruined it!

Well-paced and creepy for most of the book, but the ending felt tacked on and rushed, and left me wondering just what the point of the entire story actually was? It seemed as if the author was going for comical which didn’t fit with the tone of the story up until that point. Nothing was actually resolved, with little explanation for the events that occurred. It was disappointing as the haunting element had some original scares, and jaw-dropping moments. I thought it was realistic how the characters refused to believe what was happening in their house – that they kept seeking rational explanations before accepting that there was something supernatural going on. This really upped the fright factor for me, only to have it come crashing down in the last few chapters – a fatal flaw for any novel in my book I’m afraid.