Kill Creek

I have two favorite genres: books that have been turned into movies, and haunted house stories. “Kill Creek” is a haunted house story. It begins with four horror writers who decide to boost their careers by participating in a live-stream interview held at an abandoned house in the middle of Kansas. Six people enter the house (the four authors, the videographer, and the host) and all six come out…but what comes with them?

Honestly, I did like this book and its premise. The author did a great job of developing the spooky atmosphere of the house and its history. I felt like I couldn’t put it down the whole time they were in there. But then they all went back to their “normal” lives, and the book slowed down. Yes, they were all still affected by the house, but the atmosphere was gone. By the end, I felt like the author was just trying to figure out a way to tie up all the loose ends, and he wasn’t exactly sure how to do that. Still, it’s hard to find a good haunted house story nowadays, and I think this one fits that description. All in all, it was a good, creepy haunted house mystery.

Sidenote: One thing I did have a problem with were the female characters of the book. Most of them were on the periphery of the story as wives or girlfriends. Really, there was only one who I would consider a main character, but she was a stereotypical “ball-busting, hard-hitting, swearing, don’t-treat-me-differently-cuz-I’m-a-woman-in-a-man’s-world” feminist with little else to describe her personality. I just wish she had been given the same depth as some of the male characters, but then, when I look back at the book, I kind-of wish that about all the female characters (including the “ghosts.”) The author could have done so much more with her to advance the plot!