Book Review - Chapelwood

Chapelwood by Cherie Priest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cherie Priest takes us back into the world of Lizzie (Borden) where once more the horrors of otherworldly things must be confronted and overcome, this time in Alabama.

This is the second book in the series, and the first should be read in order to understand the story line, characters, and references.

I felt this one was much more in line with Lovecraftian horror in the way the horror elements were handled, which I enjoyed. There were few times where visceral gore was used to create the creepy vibe, and I can't recall any cheap jump tactics. This was about atmosphere, how far someone will go to save or damn the world, the loss of people who were important, and fates worse than death. The author's skill in relating the atmosphere, characters, and events were a noticeable improvement from the first book. While that doesn't mean the first book is terrible by any means, it is nice to see an author improving their craft from one book to another.

I liked the characters, new and old, and while none held my fascination quite like Maplecroft did with its antagonist, they were each interesting spins and insights for the story. I enjoyed getting to know them and their motivations.

One of my frustrations - and yet part of the appeal of this series - is the lack of total understanding of the 'other' side. You are given teases and hints of what they are, but never the whole story. You aren't meant to have the whole story. Which is aggravating and fascinating at the same time.

For anyone of the democratic or liberal persuasion with strong feelings about the 2016 USA elections I will caution that some of the story deals with an election that might hit a little close to home with the events and reasons.

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five were the following:

1. The journal/letter format was too detailed without a reasonable explanation to suspend my disbelief. I kept wondering to myself why they would bother describing rooms and how they walked so vividly to the 'reader'. It also made if difficult to believe certain character's demises when they'd just written ridiculously near the events that killed them.

2. There is a plot trope used that I can't get over because it seems like such a...lazy plot device. To not spoil anything I'll refrain from ranting in detail here, but it was impacting enough to me as a reader that it left a bad taste in my mouth that stayed with me through the rest of the book. And, no, it has nothing to do with triggers or sensitive subjects.

The book leaves plenty open to continue the series in spirit, if not with the exact same characters. I would recommend this series to anyone with an interest in Lovecraft-esque horror and Gothic tones without being a scary read.

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