The Fall of Whitehall Manor - L.V. Pires - ★★★★.¼
AUTHOR: L.V. Pires
SERIES: The Towry Family, #3
GENRE: Gothic Horror
RATING: 4.25 stars.
In a Nutshell: The third and final book of the Towry Family series. I never thought I would be left so impressed by a horror book that is absolutely NOT in my comfort zone. Has some minor flaws, but on the whole, I enjoyed this entertainer. An excellent adieu to the series.
(This review contains spoilers from the first two books.)
Story Synopsis:
After the events of Book Two, Anne finds herself in a psychiatric asylum. Her desperate attempts to attest her sanity prove counterproductive. She knows that she has to save her baby son Christopher from the curse still lingering at Whitehall Manor, but how can she do it while locked away?
Meanwhile, Brooks and his wife Evie, Anne’s sole surviving relatives though they have never even met Anne, are contacted to take guardianship of Christopher until Anne’s release. As their financial situation in South Carolina isn’t too great, they decide to shift to Whitehall Manor and care for Christopher in his own house.
If you know what’s happened in the series so far, you will agree that this is the stupidest decision they could have taken. But as Brooks and Evie aren’t locals, they don’t know what awaits them in their new house.
The story comes to us in the alternating 3rd person perspectives of Anne and Evie.
This is the third book in the Towry Family series, and to me, the best of the three. However, as the books build up the plot in sequence, it is best to read the books in the right order and not as standalones.
Bookish Yays:
👻 I loved the two women characters whose voices bring this story to us. Both Anne and Evie are strong women caught in horrid circumstances, and their courage as well as their vulnerabilities make them excellent choices to carry the plot on their shoulders.
👻 Evie is a devout Christian, so for the first time in this series, we see the battle of faith vs supernatural. (Thankfully, not a Hollywood-kind of battle; no exorcisms using the crucifix as a weapon.) Her faith also helps in understanding why she sticks by Brooks despite his self-centred behaviour.
👻 Right from the start, the book keeps its accelerator pressed on high. There is not much breathing space for the readers as the action is almost continual, even when the horror sequences aren’t going on.
👻 The psychiatric asylum scenes – Good Lord!
👻 The marigold garden sequences – Creepily wow!!!
👻 There were some experimental sequences involving the metaphysical, that continue from a similar thread in the second book. While there were some tiny bumps in the smoothness of the execution, they were still interesting to read.
👻 The ending was just brilliant! I felt sorry for many of the characters but I admire the author for doing right by the plot rather than forcing in a happy ending to satisfy readers. The finish was bittersweet, but exactly as befitted such a story.
Bookish Nay-For-Me-Possible-Yay-For-Others:
👀 The gore content was way, way, way, way above my comfort level. It has the highest carnage of the three books in this series. An avid horror reader will surely not have a problem with this, but I had to zoom through those sections so as to not gross myself out. This is certainly not a shortcoming of the book, but I am not a fan of gory paranormal stories, and this kind of content is exactly why I don’t pick up this genre often.
Bookish Nays:
☠ As is common in horror books (and horror movies), there are some really questionable decisions taken by the characters that will make you wanna whack them on their head. And there are some frustrating communication issues that will make you wanna shake the characters hard.
☠ I hate the fact that Anne is still so blind to her father’s faults, all of which were major ones. I wish that during her alone time in the asylum, she had finally come to terms with her parents’ actual personality and realigned her loyalties.
☠ This is a really silly thing to complain about in a paranormal work, but I wanted some logical explanation for how a certain someone was STILL at Whitehall and still as powerful without the you-know-what that was damaged in the second book. I simply didn’t understand how that was possible. (Or it could just be that I was so focussed on rushing to the end that I missed out on the backstory, if provided. Oh well!)
All in all, though the content was absolutely not my cup of tea, I enjoyed this book (except for the yucky bits.) It wasn’t the perfectly written novel, but it was a highly entertaining one.
This indie novel offers a fitting finale to the Towry Family series. Of the three books, this one worked the best for me as it was gripping from the start and maintained its momentum throughout. Rarely does a last book of the series not only match up to but also exceed the first book in terms of impact.
I am relieved that the series ends here. At least I hope it does, because there’s one plot development that could result in a fourth book. But I have read enough gruesome horror through these three Towry Family books to last me a lifetime, so my journey with this series will end here.
4.25 stars. (I was stuck on 4 for the most part, but that apt ending makes me shift upwards on the scale.)
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through StoryOrigin. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
This book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
If you are considering this series, here are my reviews on the first two books to help you decide.
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