House of Rain by Greg F. Gifune | Book Review

House of Rain is a horror novella from Greg F. Gifune.

Book Description

Gordon Cole is a tired and lonely old man. A troubled Vietnam vet and recent widower, he does his best to survive in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood while drowning in the nightmares of his horrific past and struggling with the death of his beloved wife Katy.

And then the whispers begin calling to him from the shadows, terrifying visions stalk him relentlessly, the sounds of angelic singing haunt his every waking moment, and everyone in his life seems to be conspiring against him for reasons he cannot yet understand.

As the rains come, soaking down the city, Gordon realizes he must face his past, and solve a dark mystery that has haunted him for nearly fifty years. Who was the mystifying woman he met in a bar all those years ago? What happened in that seedy motel they went to?

As Gordon searches for answers, something within the mounting rain watches and waits, offering Gordon deliverance from his nightmare. But the keys to Heaven and Hell come with a terrible price.

Welcome home, Gordon.

Welcome to the House of Rain.

Review

I am such a big fan of Greg Gifune. He writes what I would classify as intelligent horror. That's not to say other horror is unintelligent; he simply makes me think on a deeper level. His stories are not wrapped up and tied up; there is a lot to think about and there is always plenty left to your own imagination and interpretation. Other writers I would classify similar to Greg Gifune are Lee Thompson and Gary Braunbeck.

Over the last couple of years, Gifune has made his way on to my "must read" list. I featured House of Rain on my top anticipated books for Spring list, but I only just now managed to give it a read. I was pretty much saving it for the right moment because I knew it would be good, and I knew it would be a read-in-one-sitting type of situation.

This time it turned out to be a read-in-one-sitting-twice type of situation. I had to read it twice to get all of the pieces to fit in my mind.

If you don't like having to work for it, Gifune may not be for you, but there is something about writers like Gifune and Braunbeck and Thompson that make me feel like I'm seeing the world from a different perspective. There's a piece of my imagination no one else seems to touch.

If you are lucky enough to find yourself needing something to read on a stormy night, House of Rain will suck you in and give you plenty to think about.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Review: The Rain Dancers by Greg F. Gifune

The Rain Dancers is the latest novella from Greg Gifune.

Book Description

He arrives in darkness, in the middle of a violent downpour...an affable old man with tales to tell...

When Will and Betty Colby return to Betty's hometown to settle her late father's affairs and prepare his house for sale, they assume they'll be faced with some cleaning, basic repairs and making runs to the local dump. Will also hopes it will afford Betty a chance to reflect on the difficult relationship she had with her father. But something more is happening in this quiet little town, in this dark old house at the end of this seemingly deserted dirt road.

In the middle of a rainstorm, a man calling himself Bob Laurent appears in the night on their doorstep, claiming to be an old family friend. He seems harmless enough, only Betty has no memory of him. Yet he knows everything about her, her father and their lives. He even knows intimate details about Will and his life. While the storm rages on, a cauldron of tension, suspicion and fear builds between the couple and the stranger, dragging Will and Betty to the very brink of madness.

A vile and unrelenting evil has returned to claim what was taken from it long ago, and all the demons of the past, present and probable future have come home to roost. Before the storm clears and the sun rises, Will and Betty Colby will come to know the horrifying truth.

People live and die...but the evil they do is eternal.

The Rain Dancers was really fun to read. I love books that hook me right away and keep me in suspense until the end.

The basic premise is a stranger shows up in the middle of a rain storm claiming to be an old friend of Betty's family. This stranger is a sweet old man with wonderful stories about the family's past. He's seemingly harmless, but Betty doesn't remember him. At all.

The build up of tension and suspense in The Rain Dancers was awesome. I was glued to the story. In a horrible twist of fate, my Kindle battery died just before I got to the end. I woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep knowing my Kindle was now charged. I had to get up and finish reading it! The Rain Dancers was pretty impossible to put down.

If you've read Gifune, you know he is a master of atmosphere. If you haven't read Gifune, you should. He is taking up residence on my 'must read' list.

8/10: Great Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Review: Apartment Seven by Greg F. Gifune

Apartment Seven is a new novella from Greg F. Gifune.

Book Description

It's Christmastime in the city, but all is not merry. Something is happening in Apartment Seven. Something evil.

Charlie Cerrone thought he had it all—a loving marriage, a good job, a nice home and financial security—until the night his wife betrayed him and his entire world came crashing down.

Angry and confused, Charlie wanders the streets of Boston after dark, dazed and searching for answers, trying to figure out why his wife has apparently taken up with another man and why she's been frequenting a strangely ominous and otherwise abandoned building late at night in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city.

Throughout the cold winter night, Charlie descends deeper and deeper into a nightmarish journey that encompasses his past, present and future, a terrifying and surreal odyssey that leads him through the darkest alleys and most dangerous streets of a haunted city, and that will eventually put him face-to-face with the horrific riddle behind his own troubled existence and the shocking mysteries of Apartment Seven.

After enjoying Greg F. Gifune's Dreams the Ragman earlier this year, I was looking forward to his release of Apartment Seven. I have a tendency to avoid book descriptions when I already know I want to read the book so I was pleasantly surprised to find Apartment Seven is a Christmas story. A dark, dark Christmas story.

Clearly inspired by Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Gifune takes us on a journey of regret and redemption.

If you are looking for a great seasonal read, grab yourself a copy of Apartment Seven and wait for a cold, dark night between now and Christmas to cozy up tight and give it a read.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Review: Dreams the Ragman by Greg F. Gifune

Dreams the Ragman by Greg F. Gifune is another great novella from Delirium Books.

Book Description

As a young boy Derrick listened to his grandfather’s spooky tales of “The Ragman,” an old junk dealer and boogieman of sorts to the children in the neighborhood who he claimed had followed him throughout his entire life and stalked him from the depths of his own worst nightmares. But as an alcoholic ravaged with senility, his grandfather’s stories were dismissed as delusions.

When years later, murder comes to Derrick’s small hometown, he and his best friend Caleb—both teenage outcasts—discover that the killer is a hobo dressed in rags who rides the rails in and out of town when committing his crimes. They dub him “The Ragman” unaware of just how accurate that nickname may be, but the murders are never solved.

As time passes, Derrick weds and settles into a troubled marriage while Caleb moves to New York City and spirals into drug addiction and madness. Thirty years later, in a dying seaside resort town, the killings have begun again. Has The Ragman returned, or is something even more sinister taking place?

As Derrick and Caleb meet at the scene of the latest grisly murders, they soon find themselves confronted with an unsolved mystery that has haunted them for decades and an eternal evil they may never be able to escape. The rain falls, darkness descends, a train’s whistle blows, and the Ragman begins to dream…

Dreams the Ragman chronicles Derrick's lifetime struggle with the mysterious and evil ragman.  As a boy, the ragman came for his grandfather.  As a teenager, his best friend Caleb.  When Derrick begins investigating brutal murders that appear all too familiar, will the ragman come for him, too?

I loved the atmospheric and creepy tone of Dreams the Ragman.  I found myself engrossed in the suspense and mystery of the ragman.  There were times I wished the terror I felt would play out a little longer, but the build up and tension made for a fantastic read.

Greg F. Gifune has two novellas in Delirium's 2011 novella series: Dreams the Ragman with an April 2011 release date and Apartment Seven with a September 2011 release date.  I will definitely be checking out his next release.

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Review copy provided by publisher