”She watches… and she waits”
1689 is the first installation of the Haunting of Hadlow House series which follows Hadlow House from its construction to present day.
Let me start by saying that I love the premise behind this series: following the house itself through the years, through all of its different inhabitants, all of its different strange occurrences… Brilliant.
1689 is a tragic and gruesome tale that kicks off the series with a bang, following Richard Hadlow, the original constructor and owner of Hadlow House. He’s a quiet man, desperate for a happy life and is convinced that this perfect house will be the kickstart he needs.
”What use is a man if he leaves behind nothing of value once his mortal life is done?”
In the house with him are the Baxters—husband and wife pair that keep the grounds and the house—and his newly-domesticated wife, Rebecca, who was given to Mr. Hadlow by her father. Rebecca is struggling to settle in to the new house and her new life and the Baxters are acting strange, making Rebecca even more uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Richard is struggling to release the burdens of his past: a sudden death of a loved one and a family name that has been tainted from past generations.
This eerie, gothic haunted house story takes unexpected, gory turns and it certainly won’t be easy for those with a light stomach to digest. I’m not a fan of gore for gore’s sake and I generally don’t expect that in haunted house stories either which generally tend to lean more towards psychological horror and distress. That said I didn’t particularly care for it here.
In addition to some things being far-fetched (yes, even in a fictionalized supernatural tale), one of my biggest complaints though is that this definitely needed some tighter editing as there were many grammatical errors, instances of people being called by the wrong name, and other pieces of information that were overlooked.
Still, Cross can undoubtedly create tense, distressing scenes and is capable of eliciting a mournful response from readers. I am certainly interested in the next installment to see what direction this series takes.