Well, I need to get this off my chest immediately. I didn't find Darkhouse particularly scary, even though the title warned me that I might. Although, I must admit that I'm not easily frightened. I did, however, find it a page turner...mostly because I liked the main character Perry Palomino (great name!) and wanted to make sure she was OK through all of her adventures. Now, don't get me wrong, Ms. Halle did create a spooky setting and the things that went bump in the night were definitely creepy, but I don't want you to be turned off by this book just because you think you'll be too scared to read it! If you're easily spooked, then just read it in the daylight and you should be just fine! 
 The story is written in the first person so we live it through Perry's thoughts and visions of the world. She is a character that has had some rough patches in her life. As a teenager, feeling "different" from others she had a few misadventures. But now, she's trying to get her life back on track. And, even though she doesn't really like her job and feels like she's constantly competing with her teenage sister who can do no wrong, she's grown stronger and wants to move on from the person she was. Overall, she's fairly easy to relate to. Perry spends an awful lot of time "in her own head" thinking things through and imagining all manner of situations...and one of the topics that's foremost in her mind is Dex. Declan "Dex" Foray is older, more worldly than Perry. He's sexy and confident...and most likely, bipolar. That makes him unpredictable, irritating and totally mesmerizing. Just like Perry, I found myself intrigued by this man who only reveals what he has to...no more, no less. There were moments where I simultaneously wanted her to kiss him...and punch his lights out. This makes for a very complex relationship. 
 They're thrown together by coincidence when they meet at her uncle's abandoned lighthouse and from that point on their lives are intertwined and their adventure begins. Dex proposes they work together to create a new ghost hunting show and they return to the lighthouse where the real mystery and "spookiness" begins. This book focuses more on the characters than the supernatural and sets up what I know will be a very interesting series. The pace was a bit slow in the beginning but that changed after the first few chapters. As with many self-published books, you will find a few grammatical issues and some incorrect word choices but it is minimal and does not distract from the story. Overall Ms. Halle creates a solid foundation for the remainder of the series with characters that are unique and situations that provide enough unanswered questions to keep you wanting more.