The trouble is, I didn’t enjoy the amount of time I had to spend submerged in this story’s dark places, amplified because they are portrayed with graphic realism. This story contains a lot of violence, abuse, mayhem, and murder. There are many sexually suggestive scenes. None of the characters is in a good place emotionally, psychologically, or spiritually. Up till two thirds of the way through the book I had to force myself to read on. The story does end on a positive note, though.
According to author Aaron L.'s recent Blogcritics interview, the book is somewhat autobiographical in that it deals with a lot of his personal issues. For someone wrestling with the same demons, the book will no doubt come across differently than it did to me, and may well provide a sense of companionship and hope.
The anything-goes setting was also a problem for me. So many things just happened out of the blue. For example, two characters were in the supposedly secure compound of an estate, but then were assaulted by a host of intruders with not even any puzzlement on the part of the victim as to how they got in. People appeared and disappeared willy nilly. Half the time I didn’t know whether the main character was having a vision or experiencing "reality" — and sometimes neither did he. The journey through the random setting the authors created& mdash; a universe in which there seemed to be no rules and anything the writers dreamed up could happen — left me disoriented.
As you can see, this book is not my preferred genre. However, if suspense/fantasy/paranormal is yours, and you like it served up by flawed, edgy characters via a plot that is completely unpredictable, Light under the House may be your cup of tea.
Aaron L. is a newcomer to writing fiction. He was recently interviewed for a Blogcritics article. Donna Dawson is an award-winning Canadian writer and the author of numerous books.
(I received this book as a gift for the purpose of writing a review.)
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