One thing is absolutely certain about this book: it's not something that will appeal to every reader. If you're looking for a Stephen King or Dean Koontz type of read, you'll probably want to look elsewhere. If you're looking for something along the lines of Shirley Jackson or Michael Koryta, then this is the book for you. 
 The story starts out at a crawl & I have to admit that it took me a while to really connect with the story. I really didn't get hooked until about 70-80 pages in, so I'll just caution people to keep with it. Once the story picks up you won't be able to put it down. 
 A lot of emphasis is put upon the atmosphere of the book & the general surroundings, so if you're a fan of world building then you'll love this book. I never had to wonder what anything looked like or what the emotions in the book were supposed to be. Evans does a wonderful job of showing you exactly what's going on. 
 But I do have to repeat that this book isn't for everyone. It's a wonderfully slow gothic tale & it's well done, but it's not the nail biter that I was hoping it would be. Enthralling & hypnotic towards the end, but not exactly scary to be honest. 
 (ARC provided by amazon vine)