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Book: “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” by C.J. Weiss
Publishing Info: Self Published, October 2023
Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from the author.
Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: A historically malevolent haunted house threatens to end a line of paranormal guardians. Will the family’s latest addition tip the scales in their favor or hurtle them toward their demise?
Garrett Mueller proposes to his girlfriend, Marie Renault. She rejects him, distressing him until he learns why. Her family watches over a haunted house, where every several years a Breach opens to the world of the dead. Everyone related by blood or oath must return, or the Breach widens, endangering the family and world at large. To marry Marie, he must also bind himself to that house.
The Renaults estimate a week until the Breach opens, offering Garrett a short trial period. Despite the risks, he will try it for the woman he loves. The Renaults are professionals when it comes to the supernatural, and they’ve always prevailed. Only, as the week progresses, the family discovers this Breach is shaping up to be one of historically dangerous proportions. Risks mount higher as secrets leak out, threatening to divide the family. And even if Garrett changes his mind, it might be too late to leave.
Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh combines atmospheric haunted house horror with dark family drama, topped with a layer of unsettling worldbuilding. Readers who like smart characters taking on smart foes, deep delves into the supernatural, and twisty psychological narratives will feel right at home. This novel is part of the Virulent Nightmare Origins series and can be read as a standalone or as part of the series in any order.
Review: Thank you to C.J. Weiss for sending me an eARC of this novel!
I was definitely interested in “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” by C.J. Weiss, a story about a young man named Garrett, whose proposal to his girlfriend Marie goes awry when she says no. But when she tells him it’s because her family has to hold back supernatural forces from a Breach every few years, and it means dropping EVERYTHING to try and keep these things at bay, Garrett doesn’t really believe her, and agrees to attend the newest Breach period with her family if it means she will give him another chance. That alone sounds interesting and unique. And then when it sounded like family dysfunction and trauma was a huge component a la Mike Flanagan’s “The Haunting of Hill House”, I was all the more intrigued! Bring on the messiness of human relationships to make the ghost problem that much more complicated. So I jumped in and was interested in what I would find.
The ghost mythos and world building is pretty well done in this book! It helps having a newcomer to the Renault Family in Garrett, as him being wholly unfamiliar with The Breach, mekari (aka demonic entities), and all the other supernatural aspects means that he is going to get a crash course that we as the readers get to see first hand. We get a good family connection to The Breach, as well as some creative different subtypes of haunts, be they ghosts or demons, and the ways they can mess with those trying to keep them out. I enjoyed the uncertainty that we were seeing through Garrett, as the assurance is that you will spot a possessed person vis a vis their behavior being off or strange doesn’t REALLY help someone who has just met this family outside of new fiancee Marie. It’s an effective way to build suspense, and it makes the tension build relentlessly at times. There are plenty of moments that come completely out of nowhere as well, and as The Breach gets more and more powerful the horror elements all come to a suspenseful and scary head.
But adding to the tension is the fact that all is not well in the Renault Family during this historical Breach, and that family secrets are starting to come tumbling out as more and more danger comes forth. Not only between immediately family members, but also between lovebirds Garrett and Marie. I will say that I found Garrett to be completely nuts putting EVERYTHING in his life on hold for Marie after they had been together for a kind of brief amount of time, but it kind of works because it shows that he is making a HUGE, unknown commitment for a woman that he doesn’t know all sides of, and how sometimes that can lead to trouble. And trouble comes calling as the Renaults start to turn on each other, lash out, and reveal betrayals that could put all of them in danger as it chips away at their untied front in this ghostly service that leaves the world in the balance. I love a good family drama, so seeing all of these very human problems start to tumble out and cause even more problems was a nice combination. I do like my horror stories to have some nice real world metaphors, and while sometimes this could feel like it stilted the pacing a bit (or just reinforced my disdain at Garrett impetuously going all in on Marie, as well as with her for letting him do so without some fully informed consent until it was too late), it worked well in this. I wish we’d had a little more exploration of all the family members, as some felt more fleshed out than others.
With a good mix of well conceived horror mythology and family drama, “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” is a fun and spooky haunted house story. And just remember, your family may have some dysfunction, but at least you don’t have to battle ghosts on top of all that. It’s the little things.
Rating 7: A haunted house story that is also filled with family secrets and drama, “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” is a nerve wracking read, and not just because of the ghosts.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Secret’s Gnaw at the Flesh” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of now, but I think it would fit in on “Haunted House Stories”.