Review: The Invited
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3 stars. This was, honestly, a bit adorable. I like Jennifer McMahon and I'll likely read everything she's written when I'm in the mood, but bless her heart. This is barely, barely horror. It's a great read with an interesting mystery and a satisfying twist - it just doesn't go very deep, or very wide. It's cute. It's light. It's refreshing.
The story starts in the 1920s, when a young single mother named Hattie Breckenridge is hanged for alleged witchcraft. In 2015, Helen and Nate decide to build their dream home on her property. Obviously, things get weird. Helen in particular feels a connection to the history of the land and starts investigating Hattie and her descendants. She becomes acquainted to a youngster in the area, Olive, who is dealing with the disappearance of her mother and has her own connection to Hattie. There are supernatural elements and creepy moments, but it's essentially a thriller.
I did like the creepy stuff: ghosts, seances, a bog, some crimes, the unsettling small town vibes. I liked the albeit superficial exploration of female rage. I enjoyed Helen's relationship with her husband and the way things came together at the end. Calling this "light" doesn't mean I'm calling it simple; there was thought put into the plotting and the characters. Things click into place. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs and the flashbacks - usually I don’t. McMahon is really fantastic and avoiding gimmicky narrative devices.
Two things I couldn't get my head around: the fact that two middle school teachers had the skillset, the strength, and the funds (inheritance or no inheritance) to build a house on their own, and the fact that Olive was supposed to be a mid-teen in high school. Olive seemed younger to me. Stephen King is my benchmark for young voices (he truly is the king!), and this felt a little cliche. And the author clearly did her research on house-building but ... sorry. Couldn't believe it.
I really hesitate to call things Beach Reads because WTF does that even mean? But I could see myself enjoying this with sand between my toes. It's easy entertainment with short chapters and a brisk pace. I'll never not read ghost stories like this; they scratch an itch. This one just didn't scratch very hard.