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What evil stalks this place, these people?

Welcome!

Sadly, this book was not nearly as exciting as it sounded.
The series as a whole, however, didn’t end up half-bad.

All My Darkest Impulses is the first book in a four-part serial, House of Crows, by Lisa Unger.
They’re short, quick, and can be devoured in an hour or two—depending on how quickly you read.

If you enjoy walking a thin line between the real and the imagined—of death and darkness, secrets and lies—this story may intrigue you.

Enjoy!

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All My Darkest Impulses by Lisa Unger

Three and a Half Stars

Years ago, a girl vanished and four teens experienced something inexplicable.. it haunts them still.

When a scandal costs Matthew Merle his job, he and his family are left with no choice but to move to Merle House, a decrepit old mansion he’s inherited from his grandfather. But there is more to this place than it seems. Inhabited by some kind of sinister force that seduces the mind, and tainted by a history of brutality, Matthew isn’t sure he’ll be able to shield them from what stalks the halls of Merle House.

Claire, an old friend of Matthew’s, became a psychologist who studies serial killers after a traumatic experience at Merle House as a teen.
Answers she searches for in these sadistic minds have eluded her until, one day, in an interview with a prisoner who claims to be possessed by a nightmare right out of Claire’s past—something goes horribly wrong—and one tiny mistake almost costs her her life.
Claire survives the vicious assault but her assailant doesn’t. Now she’s tormented by the presence of an evil she knows all too well.

An invitation by Matthew compels Claire to return to Merle House—where the questions she’s had, the answers she needs, have waited all along.

Matthew never even thought about Merle House, his grandfather’s place where he had spent long, languid summers exploring all its dusty rooms and back corridors. It had disappeared into the recesses, with other things he’d rather not remember. He’d never imagined that it would come to him. That he’d be called back to care for it, deal with it.

This was a quick read, at only 64 pages, I easily devoured this in an hour or so.
We follow the POVs of Matthew Merle, Jewel Merle, and Matthew’s childhood friend Claire through a twisting, and at times confusing, mystery of murder and madness. Everyone and everything is a question of, ‘Is any of it real.. or all in their heads?’

The characters weren’t very likable and because the book is so short it was difficult to form any real opinion on them.
Matthew’s life is a mess and, due to the reason they’ve relocated, it’s hard to sympathize with him. His wife, Samantha, and their teenage daughter Jewel, we’re much easier to feel for but weren’t very charming either.

Claire’s POV is when the story becomes a little complicated, and not in a ‘I can’t follow what’s going on’ kind of way, it’s more akin to feeling like you’re missing information. And you are.

As much as I ended up enjoying the series as a whole, the first book essentially starts in the middle of these character’s story. Very little history is given in the beginning, in fact, we learn almost nothing of their past until the final book.

Layers, my friends, this book is written in these slowly unfolding layers that, while frustrating, create this tense atmosphere that will have you hooked.

Overall, I enjoyed the series but I kind of wish they had been full novels and there was more of a completed feeling. Don’t get me wrong, it is tied up nicely in the end, but I feel like the story and characters would have been more compelling had we had more time with both.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my review, I hope it was helpful!

Have you read anything by Lisa Unger before?
Which book and did you enjoy it?

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