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The Day of the Door
Once there were four Lasco siblings banded together against a world that failed to protect them. But on a hellish night that marked the end of their childhood, eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors. Though the official finding was accidental death, Nathan Lasco knows better, and has never forgiven their mother, Stella.
Now two decades later, Stella promises to finally reveal the truth of what happened on The Day of the Door. Accompanied by a paranormal investigative team, the Lasco family comes together one final time, but no one is prepared for the revelations waiting for them on the third floor.
Praise for The Day of the Door
"The Day of the Door is psychological horror at its best! Unresolved trauma within a dysfunctional family takes a blood chilling supernatural turn. Keep your Jacob's Ladder handy because this book is electrifying and terrifying."
-N.J. Gallegos, author of The Broken Heart
"The Day of the Door by Laurel Hightower is a sparking crucible of family strife from its brutal opening scene to its shocking end. Three adult children, whose lives have been shattered by the trauma of their brother's death, finally get to confront the person their mother Stella. But that isn't the whole story, is it? The Day of the Door is a propulsive, often terrifying read that diced my nerve endings. Take a deep breath before you dive in because Hightower always holds you under."
-Chris Panatier, author of The Redemption of Morgan Bright and The Phlebotomist
"An intense shard of trauma, poised to cut you. Hightower is a master at extracting the heart of a haunting and stuffing us into the claustrophobic hollow left behind. I will never get the séance out of my head."
-Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth and Cranberry Cove
Now two decades later, Stella promises to finally reveal the truth of what happened on The Day of the Door. Accompanied by a paranormal investigative team, the Lasco family comes together one final time, but no one is prepared for the revelations waiting for them on the third floor.
Praise for The Day of the Door
"The Day of the Door is psychological horror at its best! Unresolved trauma within a dysfunctional family takes a blood chilling supernatural turn. Keep your Jacob's Ladder handy because this book is electrifying and terrifying."
-N.J. Gallegos, author of The Broken Heart
"The Day of the Door by Laurel Hightower is a sparking crucible of family strife from its brutal opening scene to its shocking end. Three adult children, whose lives have been shattered by the trauma of their brother's death, finally get to confront the person their mother Stella. But that isn't the whole story, is it? The Day of the Door is a propulsive, often terrifying read that diced my nerve endings. Take a deep breath before you dive in because Hightower always holds you under."
-Chris Panatier, author of The Redemption of Morgan Bright and The Phlebotomist
"An intense shard of trauma, poised to cut you. Hightower is a master at extracting the heart of a haunting and stuffing us into the claustrophobic hollow left behind. I will never get the séance out of my head."
-Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth and Cranberry Cove
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2024
130 people are currently reading
9042 people want to read
About the author
Laurel Hightower
38 books737 followersLaurel Hightower is a bourbon loving native of Lexington, Kentucky. She is the Bram Stoker-nominated author of WHISPERS IN THE DARK, CROSSROADS, BELOW, EVERY WOMAN KNOWS THIS, SILENT KEY, SPIRIT COVEN, and THE DAY OF THE DOOR, and has more than a dozen short fiction stories in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 298 reviews
May 16, 2024
Nothing New Under the Sun...
THE DAY OF THE DOOR
by Laurel Hightower
No spoilers. 3 stars. I'm going to disclose, right from the start, that I got 30% into this novel before it became a DNF for me.
There's an old proverb that goes like this:
There's nothing new under the sun. This saying popped into my mind as I tried to finish this novel because I've read variations of this plot many times before.
I realize that I'm an outlier here, but all I've read so far, at 30%, is another PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES story with unresolved family drama.
The mother is insufferable (which her character is meant to be), but her adult children willingly agree to become victims (again) to Mother's psychotic behavior.
I realize that it might just be me due to all the 5 star reviews, but I have to go with my honest opinion on this.
The story is about four children living in constant fear that their crazy mother is going to lose it on them, and she finally does (possibly) killing her oldest child.
The surviving family is dispersed by Social Services.
Years later, the children, now adults, are asked to make a documentary in the house where their brother was murdered and to reunite with their self-serving mother.
I just wasn't buying that three grown adults would agree to reunite and make a documentary with a mother that abused them and (possibly) murdered their brother, then allow themselves to become victims of her psychosis once again.
Some readers evidently liked this novel very much, so take that into consideration when you read this review, but I have an obligation to be honest with MY opinion.
BELOW by this author is a very good story.
THE DAY OF THE DOOR
by Laurel Hightower
No spoilers. 3 stars. I'm going to disclose, right from the start, that I got 30% into this novel before it became a DNF for me.
There's an old proverb that goes like this:
There's nothing new under the sun. This saying popped into my mind as I tried to finish this novel because I've read variations of this plot many times before.
I realize that I'm an outlier here, but all I've read so far, at 30%, is another PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES story with unresolved family drama.
The mother is insufferable (which her character is meant to be), but her adult children willingly agree to become victims (again) to Mother's psychotic behavior.
I realize that it might just be me due to all the 5 star reviews, but I have to go with my honest opinion on this.
The story is about four children living in constant fear that their crazy mother is going to lose it on them, and she finally does (possibly) killing her oldest child.
The surviving family is dispersed by Social Services.
Years later, the children, now adults, are asked to make a documentary in the house where their brother was murdered and to reunite with their self-serving mother.
I just wasn't buying that three grown adults would agree to reunite and make a documentary with a mother that abused them and (possibly) murdered their brother, then allow themselves to become victims of her psychosis once again.
Some readers evidently liked this novel very much, so take that into consideration when you read this review, but I have an obligation to be honest with MY opinion.
BELOW by this author is a very good story.
April 2, 2025
Laurel has done it again!!!
3 siblings are haunted by the tragic, unexplained death of their older brother in their childhoods, and as adults, they’re still struggling with all they don’t know. Was their narcissistic, abusive mother responsible? Was it an accident? Did he kill himself? Or was there something paranormal at play?
Two decades later, their mother finally promises to explain exactly what happened the night of their brother’s death, with the help of a renowned team of paranormal investigators.
This plays out like equal parts family drama, ghost hunter-style investigation, and is-the-house-haunted-or-are-we-losing-it with LOTS of creepy imagery and toxic family dynamics and a smattering of body horror. There was one scene in particular at the beginning with sleep paralysis that gave me full body chills, I could legit *feel* what the character was feeling.
The way that the toxic relationships were portrayed reminded me of a Karin Slaughter book (highest praise I could possibly give a book tbh), and the haunting elements reminded me of an Ania Ahlborn book (also immeasurable high praise) and written in the addictive way I’ve come to expect with Laurel Hightower’s books. It also kinda wrecked me, which is also what I’ve grown to expect 😂🧡
3 siblings are haunted by the tragic, unexplained death of their older brother in their childhoods, and as adults, they’re still struggling with all they don’t know. Was their narcissistic, abusive mother responsible? Was it an accident? Did he kill himself? Or was there something paranormal at play?
Two decades later, their mother finally promises to explain exactly what happened the night of their brother’s death, with the help of a renowned team of paranormal investigators.
This plays out like equal parts family drama, ghost hunter-style investigation, and is-the-house-haunted-or-are-we-losing-it with LOTS of creepy imagery and toxic family dynamics and a smattering of body horror. There was one scene in particular at the beginning with sleep paralysis that gave me full body chills, I could legit *feel* what the character was feeling.
The way that the toxic relationships were portrayed reminded me of a Karin Slaughter book (highest praise I could possibly give a book tbh), and the haunting elements reminded me of an Ania Ahlborn book (also immeasurable high praise) and written in the addictive way I’ve come to expect with Laurel Hightower’s books. It also kinda wrecked me, which is also what I’ve grown to expect 😂🧡
March 24, 2024
I think I have found my new favourite horror author in Laurel Hightower. I have several of her books on my list to read, but this was the first one I ever have, and it was EXCELLENT!!
Nate, and his sisters Aury and Katy, suffered years of abuse as children, by their mother Stella. Twenty years after Stella killed their older brother Shawn at just 17 years old, the remaining three siblings want the truth from her, once and for all…was it a supernatural force, which she has always claimed, or is she the cruel, evil abuser they remember.
This had me gripped from beginning to end, and although I wanted to know the truth also, I didn’t want the book to end. I shall definitely be moving the other books by Laurel Hightower, up my list…pronto!!
Thanks to the author and BookSirens for sending me this free ARC, of which I leave a voluntary review.
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nate, and his sisters Aury and Katy, suffered years of abuse as children, by their mother Stella. Twenty years after Stella killed their older brother Shawn at just 17 years old, the remaining three siblings want the truth from her, once and for all…was it a supernatural force, which she has always claimed, or is she the cruel, evil abuser they remember.
This had me gripped from beginning to end, and although I wanted to know the truth also, I didn’t want the book to end. I shall definitely be moving the other books by Laurel Hightower, up my list…pronto!!
Thanks to the author and BookSirens for sending me this free ARC, of which I leave a voluntary review.
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 11, 2025
Sour Breath!
Nate and his sisters, Aurie and Kate, grow up in an abusive family, with their brother, Shawn.
Shawn dies when he is seventeen. Is it an accident or murder? That’s what this book tries to fathom.
Nate has always believed he was murdered by their mother. His sisters aren’t too certain. Kate says, maybe it was an accident.
Mother claims it was a ghost, an entity. She promises to tell her children what really happened if they return to the house with her.
The children, now grown up, return to their old home. Aury, with a paranormal film crew, to record the events.
This book has a lot of humor in it. I don’t think it is always intentional, but it’s funny all the same.
In a house with broken glass and bordered up windows, in the middle of winter, with no electricity, you would expect the house to be completely cold. Yet, someone would pipe up the question “ls it cold in here?” This happens many times.
In a house with no electricity, no one thought to bring a flashlight, but someone had the wherewithal to bring candles. Which are useless.
After the end of the day, when the show is over, Nate goes over the event with Carrie, his psychiatrist friend and mentor. And they decide that…
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
Nate and his sisters, Aurie and Kate, grow up in an abusive family, with their brother, Shawn.
Shawn dies when he is seventeen. Is it an accident or murder? That’s what this book tries to fathom.
Nate has always believed he was murdered by their mother. His sisters aren’t too certain. Kate says, maybe it was an accident.
Mother claims it was a ghost, an entity. She promises to tell her children what really happened if they return to the house with her.
The children, now grown up, return to their old home. Aury, with a paranormal film crew, to record the events.
This book has a lot of humor in it. I don’t think it is always intentional, but it’s funny all the same.
In a house with broken glass and bordered up windows, in the middle of winter, with no electricity, you would expect the house to be completely cold. Yet, someone would pipe up the question “ls it cold in here?” This happens many times.
In a house with no electricity, no one thought to bring a flashlight, but someone had the wherewithal to bring candles. Which are useless.
After the end of the day, when the show is over, Nate goes over the event with Carrie, his psychiatrist friend and mentor. And they decide that…
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
March 1, 2024
I absolutley adore anything Laurel writes and this was surprise surprise no exception, right from the first sentence I was hooked like a little spooky fish and couldn't (didn't) wanna look away, for fans of A Head Full of Ghosts this was a tense psychological family drama with a supernatural backdrop that infuses every page with a visceral sense of unease and terror, my eyes bulged out my head reading some scenes, Laurel always writes incredibly unique multi layered stories that stay with me long after reading, the ambiguity of this story is something that I really enjoyed it kept me on my toes, if you love themes of ghosts, hauntings and possession you'll be right at home (but it might be haunted), well crafted characters whos pain is palpable made me all the more invested, Laurels writing is compelling and in my opinion she is one of the best storytellers today, all the stars!
April 5, 2025
I loved the stress of trying to figure out if what was happening was supernatural or just an awful person… However, (and maybe this is on me), I was expecting some sort of big twist at the end that didn’t happen! 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️!
April 22, 2024
This one hit home in all the right ways. If you grew up with a narcissist, you need to read this. Hell, read it anyway, but beware: it's potent and will make you feel things. Highly recommended.
April 6, 2024
In "The Sect of the Idiot," Thomas Ligotti wrote, "Life is a nightmare that leaves its mark upon you in order to prove that it is, in fact, real." While the unnamed narrator of his short story writes under the surveillance of a Lovecraftian Them and discovers the meaninglessness of life by way of madness, it's a sentiment that feels just as valid when applied to Laurel Hightower's The Day of the Door, even as her characters reach a more cathartic and far less nihilistic conclusion than Ligotti's own.
At the heart of The Day of the Door is familial trauma, shared tragedy, and psychic wounds that have been inflicted upon the Lasco children by matriarch Stella. The oldest of them, Shawn, died at 17, taken behind the door of a third-floor room of the family home by their mother. Only Stella emerged from that room to bury the truth of what occurred, the authorities ruling rebellious, trouble-making Shawn's death a suicide. Now, 20-years later, Nate and his sisters have reunited with Stella at the haunted home they grew up in to appear in a quasi-documentary being filmed by a ghost hunting crew in the hopes that they can finally wind up their narcissistic, abusive, and cunning mother enough to finally get the truth out of her.
Hightower's latest is an empathic exploration of the relationship between a narcissist and her children and it's one I found uncomfortably accurate. Her depictions of what it's like to be raised by an emotionally unavailable parent with a very loose connection to reality is perfectly rendered and one I found intensely relatable. At times, her passages felt like a personal diary, like the worries the Lasco children possess of turning out just like Stella and how, because they could never understand her behavior toward them as kids, believe they're unable to have control over their own and refuse to allow anyone to become close to them. Or how Nate wonders how deeply they've all been programmed by Stella and how long it would take before pieces of her "stopped seeping from their mouths and minds?" Or how Stella is completely incapable of self-reflection and would "rather turn her back on the truth than for one second have to admit she wasn't perfection itself."
I could relate to Nate Lasco so easily because, in a lot of uncomfortable ways, I am him. My father was a narcissist and only grew worse as succumbed to dementia. He always believed himself to be the smartest man in the room -- nobody ever knew anything, everybody was an idiot and an asshole, and he rarely had a kind word to spare anybody. And, like Stella, if you ever called him out on his bullshit, you were the problem, you were the bully, and you needed to stop being so sensitive and emotional, not him. The world was locked in a massive conspiracy targeting him, and every inconvenience was the work of malign forces hellbent on disrupting his life, from the customer service operator at the cable company up to the President of the United States, except Trump who, naturally, he worshipped. Go figure, right? He rewrote his own reality when confronted with his cancer diagnosis, denying he was sick right on up through his final day, insisting it was COVID-19 and that he'd been infected by a coalition of Arabs and Chinese forces working to eliminate him because he knew too much. And like Nate, I spent an inordinate amount of my time vowing that I would never turn out like him and hating myself every time I heard his words coming out of my mouth or found my reactions to particular infractions mirroring his.
Reading about Stella was like being thrust back into the grandiose delusions of my father. I suspect some more fortunate readers might find Stella too inconsistent and too shallow a character, but I would argue otherwise. There's a deep layer of psychoses inherent in her, and Hightower captures it wonderfully. She's either done a remarkable job at research or invests Stella with her own lived experiences. If we're to take seriously the old adage about writing what you know, then Hightower damn well does know exactly what she writes in these pages, to an uncanny and intimate degree.
The Day of the Door is, obligatorily, about ghosts, but that's all just surface-level stuff. Once you scrape away the pond scum of literalness, it's really about the ghosts of us, living or otherwise, and the past that haunts us, the memories we hold onto and how and why we remember them. It's about the scars cut into our skin and soul by those who should have held us dear but who were too twisted by their own hauntings to do so. Because life is a nightmare, and too often that nightmare is right here at home with us.
At the heart of The Day of the Door is familial trauma, shared tragedy, and psychic wounds that have been inflicted upon the Lasco children by matriarch Stella. The oldest of them, Shawn, died at 17, taken behind the door of a third-floor room of the family home by their mother. Only Stella emerged from that room to bury the truth of what occurred, the authorities ruling rebellious, trouble-making Shawn's death a suicide. Now, 20-years later, Nate and his sisters have reunited with Stella at the haunted home they grew up in to appear in a quasi-documentary being filmed by a ghost hunting crew in the hopes that they can finally wind up their narcissistic, abusive, and cunning mother enough to finally get the truth out of her.
Hightower's latest is an empathic exploration of the relationship between a narcissist and her children and it's one I found uncomfortably accurate. Her depictions of what it's like to be raised by an emotionally unavailable parent with a very loose connection to reality is perfectly rendered and one I found intensely relatable. At times, her passages felt like a personal diary, like the worries the Lasco children possess of turning out just like Stella and how, because they could never understand her behavior toward them as kids, believe they're unable to have control over their own and refuse to allow anyone to become close to them. Or how Nate wonders how deeply they've all been programmed by Stella and how long it would take before pieces of her "stopped seeping from their mouths and minds?" Or how Stella is completely incapable of self-reflection and would "rather turn her back on the truth than for one second have to admit she wasn't perfection itself."
I could relate to Nate Lasco so easily because, in a lot of uncomfortable ways, I am him. My father was a narcissist and only grew worse as succumbed to dementia. He always believed himself to be the smartest man in the room -- nobody ever knew anything, everybody was an idiot and an asshole, and he rarely had a kind word to spare anybody. And, like Stella, if you ever called him out on his bullshit, you were the problem, you were the bully, and you needed to stop being so sensitive and emotional, not him. The world was locked in a massive conspiracy targeting him, and every inconvenience was the work of malign forces hellbent on disrupting his life, from the customer service operator at the cable company up to the President of the United States, except Trump who, naturally, he worshipped. Go figure, right? He rewrote his own reality when confronted with his cancer diagnosis, denying he was sick right on up through his final day, insisting it was COVID-19 and that he'd been infected by a coalition of Arabs and Chinese forces working to eliminate him because he knew too much. And like Nate, I spent an inordinate amount of my time vowing that I would never turn out like him and hating myself every time I heard his words coming out of my mouth or found my reactions to particular infractions mirroring his.
Reading about Stella was like being thrust back into the grandiose delusions of my father. I suspect some more fortunate readers might find Stella too inconsistent and too shallow a character, but I would argue otherwise. There's a deep layer of psychoses inherent in her, and Hightower captures it wonderfully. She's either done a remarkable job at research or invests Stella with her own lived experiences. If we're to take seriously the old adage about writing what you know, then Hightower damn well does know exactly what she writes in these pages, to an uncanny and intimate degree.
The Day of the Door is, obligatorily, about ghosts, but that's all just surface-level stuff. Once you scrape away the pond scum of literalness, it's really about the ghosts of us, living or otherwise, and the past that haunts us, the memories we hold onto and how and why we remember them. It's about the scars cut into our skin and soul by those who should have held us dear but who were too twisted by their own hauntings to do so. Because life is a nightmare, and too often that nightmare is right here at home with us.
May 20, 2024
Nathan Lasco hasn't spoken to his mother Stella for twenty years, after suffering a childhood full of emotional and physical abuse that culminated in the horrific death of his older brother Shawn, who died after their mother dragged him into a room on the third floor of their home and locked the door. For two decades, Stella has denied all culpability in not only the death of her son but also the abuse of all of her children, and now blames Shawn's death on the influence of an evil entity in the home. When Stella is approached to be the star of a ghost hunting series, she can't resist the opportunity to once again be the center of attention. With some convincing on the part of his two sisters, Nathan reluctantly agrees to participate and return to the home of his nightmares, in the hopes that shedding light on what really happened to Shawn on "the day of the door" will enable the three remaining Lasco siblings to finally move past the childhood that still haunts them all.
The Day of the Door, if it wasn't already obvious, leans heavily into some tough issues. Hightower doesn't hold back on the physical and emotional abuse inflicted by Stella Lasco on her children, and even though we don't see most of this abuse unfolding in the present narrative, it's still pretty tough to read at times. The book also looks at how a childhood spent at the mercy of an abusive and mentally ill parent can manifest in those children as adults. Stella Lasco sort of gave me vibes of Toni Collette in the last half of the movie Hereditary, but Stella was just that f'd up from the get-go.
The supernatural elements in the book are impossible to isolate from the themes of trauma and abuse, and there are times when the reader is lead to wonder if there really is anything supernatural going on at all, but there are also some really creepy scenes and a good dose of outright gore that definitely make this a horror novel.
This was an easy and unsettling read. The last chapter makes me think Hightower might be planning a sequel, and I would definitely be on board for that.
The Day of the Door, if it wasn't already obvious, leans heavily into some tough issues. Hightower doesn't hold back on the physical and emotional abuse inflicted by Stella Lasco on her children, and even though we don't see most of this abuse unfolding in the present narrative, it's still pretty tough to read at times. The book also looks at how a childhood spent at the mercy of an abusive and mentally ill parent can manifest in those children as adults. Stella Lasco sort of gave me vibes of Toni Collette in the last half of the movie Hereditary, but Stella was just that f'd up from the get-go.
The supernatural elements in the book are impossible to isolate from the themes of trauma and abuse, and there are times when the reader is lead to wonder if there really is anything supernatural going on at all, but there are also some really creepy scenes and a good dose of outright gore that definitely make this a horror novel.
This was an easy and unsettling read. The last chapter makes me think Hightower might be planning a sequel, and I would definitely be on board for that.
December 18, 2024
From the opening pages, I was immersed in Hightower's world of childhood trauma and supernatural terror. Haunted by their narcissistic mother in a house full of horrors, three siblings grow up struggling to navigate the psychological abuse they endured leading up to the death of the oldest. But the house has shadows that lure and want to feed, and their mother is at the dark heart of it all. She is an emotionally unavailable parent with a tenuous hold on reality that gaslights her children every step of the way.
Psychic vibrations curse the inhabitants with memories of a past where nightmares blend with waking reality. The depth of character is as profound as was the anxiety I pushed through to complete this tale of woe. The dread emanates from outside as well as within the family hive. The family find themselves in a final confrontation where ghosts of the past are interchangeable with those in the present and those from within. The psychic wounds run dark and deep in The Day Of The Door, and the resulting psychic scars worm into nightmarish memory and are here to prey. All the stars!
Psychic vibrations curse the inhabitants with memories of a past where nightmares blend with waking reality. The depth of character is as profound as was the anxiety I pushed through to complete this tale of woe. The dread emanates from outside as well as within the family hive. The family find themselves in a final confrontation where ghosts of the past are interchangeable with those in the present and those from within. The psychic wounds run dark and deep in The Day Of The Door, and the resulting psychic scars worm into nightmarish memory and are here to prey. All the stars!
May 20, 2024
The Day of the Door is an engrossing tale of family drama, childhood abuse, addiction and the supernatural.
Hightower is a gifted storyteller blending mystery into the plot making you want to read just one more chapter. The characters are wonderful with our protagonists dealing with the lifetime consequences of horrific abuse and the death of a sibling at the hands of their own mother? Was it her or something else?
I particularly loved Carrie and the final chapter and her conversation with Nate. It was heartfelt and profound and I've been thinking about her words and how it's relevant to my own life. Beautiful, violent, tense and scary.
Another hit for Laurel Hightower definitely one to read.
Hightower is a gifted storyteller blending mystery into the plot making you want to read just one more chapter. The characters are wonderful with our protagonists dealing with the lifetime consequences of horrific abuse and the death of a sibling at the hands of their own mother? Was it her or something else?
I particularly loved Carrie and the final chapter and her conversation with Nate. It was heartfelt and profound and I've been thinking about her words and how it's relevant to my own life. Beautiful, violent, tense and scary.
Another hit for Laurel Hightower definitely one to read.
April 24, 2024
The not knowing. That’s what really got to me. I had to find out. What happened? What’s going to happen? I couldn’t/wouldn’t stop. I started the day at 40% and I plowed through the rest in a reading frenzy. There was no way I could go to sleep without some resolution. I did not want those dreams.
October 21, 2024
This started of VERY strong for me. Found myself emotionally triggered by how real the effects of narcissistic family abuse was described and experienced by the characters from jump. Cried within the first 14 pages. Unfortunately, moving forward, the story just didn’t inspire the same emotion from me. I can’t really pinpoint what didn’t work for me because I found the writing to be well done and again, the family trauma theme to remain strong but I just could not get into the story happening enough to truly care about the characters. This is probably more of a me problem than the book itself. I just found the storyline to be dull and the horror aspects didn’t really do anything for me. I really wish this was not the case because I love Laurel and I ADORED ‘Crossroads’ but alas, not every book is going to work for every person.
April 5, 2024
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy this story; it sounded more like psychological horror with a complex grief based plot. Sometimes these type of stories can get a little bogged down in my opinion. However, I know what an incredible author Laurel is, and knew I had to take a chance on this book.
Thank goodness it was up the author’s usual high quality of work. I actually enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster the characters went on, empathizing and sympathizing with their struggles. There were some genuinely scary moments, and the book was hard to put down.
There are supernatural elements, the narrator’s traits and traumas are dissected, and everyone involved (author, readers, characters) battle for a resolution to what happened in the house the Lasco’s lived in.
“The place had bad energy; even he could feel that. He stood unmoving, his eyes locked on the door that changed everything.”
Thank you to the author & BookSirens for a copy.
Thank goodness it was up the author’s usual high quality of work. I actually enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster the characters went on, empathizing and sympathizing with their struggles. There were some genuinely scary moments, and the book was hard to put down.
There are supernatural elements, the narrator’s traits and traumas are dissected, and everyone involved (author, readers, characters) battle for a resolution to what happened in the house the Lasco’s lived in.
“The place had bad energy; even he could feel that. He stood unmoving, his eyes locked on the door that changed everything.”
Thank you to the author & BookSirens for a copy.
Read
April 23, 2024The family trauma that pervades THE DAY OF THE DOOR is horrifying enough, but coupled with the intensely creepy events that occur, this story encapsulates "HORROR" in a masterful, terrifying way. Laurel Hightower has written a beautiful, dark story about the Things that haunt our hearts.
November 15, 2024
[TW/CW: Language, toxic family relationships, abusive relationships, drinking, alcoholism, cancer, death by suicide attempt, depression, anxiety, use of c-word, gory scenes, blood]
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Once there were four Lasco siblings banded together against a world that failed to protect them. But on a hellish night that marked the end of their childhood, eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors. Though the official finding was accidental death, Nathan Lasco knows better, and has never forgiven their mother, Stella.Now two decades later, Stella promises to finally reveal the truth of what happened on The Day of the Door. Accompanied by a paranormal investigative team, the Lasco family comes together one final time, but no one is prepared for the revelations waiting for them on the third floor.
Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 228
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Love the writing style
2. Creepy parts
3. Kept me guessing
What I Didn't Like:
1. Hate dreams in books
2. Ending wasn't good
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Cannot get over how toxic their mother is. Trying to get money over the death of her son. God, wouldn't it be a curious thing if the house was really haunted.
There's a scene in the book where Nate is being yelled at by Helter about toning down his sarcasm. I had to laugh because he actually says to this guy who lost his brother in this house that he needs to tone it down "it's ruining the mood of the place. people tune in to see ghost and atmosphere we want them to feel the fear we feel to be with us and that's not going to happen with your quips". That's so insane to say to a person whose sibling died in this house.
It was entertaining to see the crew have to witness how she gaslights the kids. She has an argument about what is Nates middle name Edward or Edwin and it is Edwin. She brushes it off like they were wrong and she was the one that was right.
Seeing how little the siblings share with each other as you read on is interesting. They almost share nothing with Nate. He just found out that Aury had cancer and Katy is engaged.
I do not trust Carrie. She seems like she's up to something and she's always talking in Nates ear about don't trust this don't trust that and do this do that. I'm starting to wonder if she's actually working for someone else or doing your own paperwork on Nate and his family.
We finally get Stella's side of the story and the ghosts that she has kind of sound like The Shining ghost where they act like a friend and give you advice while harming you and your family.
Stella lied she actually did take the bat to Sean and beat him multiple times. Aury went and got an autopsy done of Shawn to find out that he had cut his own throat but only because he had been beaten with the bat in the throat and was desperate to breathe. The bat actually had Stella's fingerprints on it all 10 of them. So she must have cut off her own fingers to make it look like he did it.
Weirdly enough this Mark character shows up the last 50 pages of the book and he doesn't have much of a part in it but it is Stella's ex and someone that the kids had looked up to growing up. Mark ends up killing Stella when the bat goes into the electric current. He mentions that he had made a promise to Stella that if this thing had ever came back that he would put an end to it meaning he would kill her, but Stella is such a narcissistic person I can't imagine her making this promise to save them. Remember she practically killed her son when she was possessed by her quote on quote friend and then covered it up by cutting her own fingers off to make it look like her son did it all the while saying he was a terrible child. So, acting like Stella would sacrifice herself for them seems so out of character. I'm not buying it.
Carrie says that Gunther is ethical because he's going to pay for shelters surgery, but then we find out even though Stella died and Helter was hurt he still put the episode out. How ethical is that?
We find out that Carrie actually did a background check on the house and find out there were murders for years before and after Stella had lived there.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I'd say I really enjoyed this book and I liked the family dynamic to the ghost atmosphere. I thought that was a nice touch to a haunted book story. Usually with ghost stories you just get "there's a haunting let's solve it", but with this we got more in depth.
It did bother me how Nate is an alcoholic so bad he has to load up his pockets with alcohol but during all this it doesn't seem to even bother him. There is no effects at all to his not drinking.
The ending just felt very much like Stephen King's The Shining and the ghosts reminded me of them. The ending bothered me because we have this character Helter whose face is chewed off and I guess that's the defense Mark is going with that Stella attacked everyone and so he pushed her away and she fell into the current. It's never really explained it's only one sentence and it says that Aury is paying for his defense.
I did enjoy how the book kept you guessing if really Stella was possessed or not. At the end Carrie tells Nate that maybe she wasn't possessed and maybe this was just how she always was since she was so narcissistic. Maybe she was just using the defense of possession because that's how she really felt about Shawn, but I mean if someone chews another person's face off I'm thinking possession.
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Once there were four Lasco siblings banded together against a world that failed to protect them. But on a hellish night that marked the end of their childhood, eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors. Though the official finding was accidental death, Nathan Lasco knows better, and has never forgiven their mother, Stella.Now two decades later, Stella promises to finally reveal the truth of what happened on The Day of the Door. Accompanied by a paranormal investigative team, the Lasco family comes together one final time, but no one is prepared for the revelations waiting for them on the third floor.
Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 228
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Love the writing style
2. Creepy parts
3. Kept me guessing
What I Didn't Like:
1. Hate dreams in books
2. Ending wasn't good
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Cannot get over how toxic their mother is. Trying to get money over the death of her son. God, wouldn't it be a curious thing if the house was really haunted.
There's a scene in the book where Nate is being yelled at by Helter about toning down his sarcasm. I had to laugh because he actually says to this guy who lost his brother in this house that he needs to tone it down "it's ruining the mood of the place. people tune in to see ghost and atmosphere we want them to feel the fear we feel to be with us and that's not going to happen with your quips". That's so insane to say to a person whose sibling died in this house.
It was entertaining to see the crew have to witness how she gaslights the kids. She has an argument about what is Nates middle name Edward or Edwin and it is Edwin. She brushes it off like they were wrong and she was the one that was right.
Seeing how little the siblings share with each other as you read on is interesting. They almost share nothing with Nate. He just found out that Aury had cancer and Katy is engaged.
I do not trust Carrie. She seems like she's up to something and she's always talking in Nates ear about don't trust this don't trust that and do this do that. I'm starting to wonder if she's actually working for someone else or doing your own paperwork on Nate and his family.
We finally get Stella's side of the story and the ghosts that she has kind of sound like The Shining ghost where they act like a friend and give you advice while harming you and your family.
Stella lied she actually did take the bat to Sean and beat him multiple times. Aury went and got an autopsy done of Shawn to find out that he had cut his own throat but only because he had been beaten with the bat in the throat and was desperate to breathe. The bat actually had Stella's fingerprints on it all 10 of them. So she must have cut off her own fingers to make it look like he did it.
Weirdly enough this Mark character shows up the last 50 pages of the book and he doesn't have much of a part in it but it is Stella's ex and someone that the kids had looked up to growing up. Mark ends up killing Stella when the bat goes into the electric current. He mentions that he had made a promise to Stella that if this thing had ever came back that he would put an end to it meaning he would kill her, but Stella is such a narcissistic person I can't imagine her making this promise to save them. Remember she practically killed her son when she was possessed by her quote on quote friend and then covered it up by cutting her own fingers off to make it look like her son did it all the while saying he was a terrible child. So, acting like Stella would sacrifice herself for them seems so out of character. I'm not buying it.
Carrie says that Gunther is ethical because he's going to pay for shelters surgery, but then we find out even though Stella died and Helter was hurt he still put the episode out. How ethical is that?
We find out that Carrie actually did a background check on the house and find out there were murders for years before and after Stella had lived there.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I'd say I really enjoyed this book and I liked the family dynamic to the ghost atmosphere. I thought that was a nice touch to a haunted book story. Usually with ghost stories you just get "there's a haunting let's solve it", but with this we got more in depth.
It did bother me how Nate is an alcoholic so bad he has to load up his pockets with alcohol but during all this it doesn't seem to even bother him. There is no effects at all to his not drinking.
The ending just felt very much like Stephen King's The Shining and the ghosts reminded me of them. The ending bothered me because we have this character Helter whose face is chewed off and I guess that's the defense Mark is going with that Stella attacked everyone and so he pushed her away and she fell into the current. It's never really explained it's only one sentence and it says that Aury is paying for his defense.
I did enjoy how the book kept you guessing if really Stella was possessed or not. At the end Carrie tells Nate that maybe she wasn't possessed and maybe this was just how she always was since she was so narcissistic. Maybe she was just using the defense of possession because that's how she really felt about Shawn, but I mean if someone chews another person's face off I'm thinking possession.
IG | Blog
July 15, 2024
Hightower Rules!
A new favorite. THE DAY OF THE DOOR is riveting, beautifully written, and absolutely creepy. If you haven't read Hightower, you're missing out on one of the best purveyors of modern fiction. Highly recommended!
A new favorite. THE DAY OF THE DOOR is riveting, beautifully written, and absolutely creepy. If you haven't read Hightower, you're missing out on one of the best purveyors of modern fiction. Highly recommended!
March 9, 2024
This is the story of Lasco’s family: four siblings and their mother living in Harper Lane house. In a devilish night, Shawn the eldest brother died in a violent way behind that closed door.
Was it accidental? What happened in there? An evil force or a human being?
The only thing that Nathan Lasco knows for sure is that he will never forgive Stella, his mother.
Twenty years later the whole family gathers together in Harper Lane, because finally the truth needs to see the light. Helped by a paranormal team which wants to film a documentary about the events that occurred in that fateful night, the party begins 😈 👥: Shadows, candles, possessions, séances, Jacob’s Ladder and many more to come…But, who really killed Shawn? Were they be able to find the truth?.
An eerie psychological horror story which plays with the ambiguity of earthly and spiritual world. That whole first chapter is crazy insane.
For sure, you readers, are going to have a magnificent time reading this.
I want to thank Laurel for sending me a digital copy of the book, thank you for the trust 🖤🩶.
Was it accidental? What happened in there? An evil force or a human being?
The only thing that Nathan Lasco knows for sure is that he will never forgive Stella, his mother.
Twenty years later the whole family gathers together in Harper Lane, because finally the truth needs to see the light. Helped by a paranormal team which wants to film a documentary about the events that occurred in that fateful night, the party begins 😈 👥: Shadows, candles, possessions, séances, Jacob’s Ladder and many more to come…But, who really killed Shawn? Were they be able to find the truth?.
An eerie psychological horror story which plays with the ambiguity of earthly and spiritual world. That whole first chapter is crazy insane.
For sure, you readers, are going to have a magnificent time reading this.
I want to thank Laurel for sending me a digital copy of the book, thank you for the trust 🖤🩶.
December 4, 2024
Narcissistic parents, unresolved trauma, and haunted houses. Laurel Hightower’s The Day of the Door is one hell of a horror novel that transcends the haunted house subgenre. The Lasco kids, now adults, have never been the same following one fateful night in which their oldest brother, Shawn, died. Nathan, Aury, and Katy know what led to Shawn’s death and know the cruelty of their mother, Stella, despite a police investigation with no arrests made. However, a paranormal investigative show comes calling, wanting to revisit the Lasco family home and settle things once and for all. For the first time in many years, the Lasco family sits down to confront their past in the very place so much trauma unfolded, in their family home.
I feel the need to say it bluntly, I LOVED THIS BOOK. This is the first of Hightower’s that I picked up, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. The Day of the Door feels like a mashup of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House and Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts, all familial turmoil, some ambiguity, and lots of darkness. Hightower writes with multiple layers of horror, both of this world and another, with her characterization of Stella and all of the weird occurrences that transpire in the family’s home.
Beyond horror, it really feels like Hightower is examining the nature vs. nurture argument with this novel, examining the ramifications of such a dark past. As the Lascos attempt to confront whatever it is that led to this point, it’s clear to see how much the past has affected them in every aspect of their lives. It’s a modern registration of the classic notion, is this house haunted or are we?
A deep dive into the darkness of family trauma, The Day of the Door is a stellar horror novel that succeeds through both corporeal and psychological terror. We’re right there with the Lascos wanting to know what the hell transpired on that fateful night, slowly realizing that the price of knowing may be steep.
I feel the need to say it bluntly, I LOVED THIS BOOK. This is the first of Hightower’s that I picked up, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. The Day of the Door feels like a mashup of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House and Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts, all familial turmoil, some ambiguity, and lots of darkness. Hightower writes with multiple layers of horror, both of this world and another, with her characterization of Stella and all of the weird occurrences that transpire in the family’s home.
Beyond horror, it really feels like Hightower is examining the nature vs. nurture argument with this novel, examining the ramifications of such a dark past. As the Lascos attempt to confront whatever it is that led to this point, it’s clear to see how much the past has affected them in every aspect of their lives. It’s a modern registration of the classic notion, is this house haunted or are we?
A deep dive into the darkness of family trauma, The Day of the Door is a stellar horror novel that succeeds through both corporeal and psychological terror. We’re right there with the Lascos wanting to know what the hell transpired on that fateful night, slowly realizing that the price of knowing may be steep.
April 18, 2024
*Huge thanks to Laurel for sending me a digital ARC!*
When one of your favorite authors announces they have a book coming out, you get excited, you preorder it and then you patiently wait for the release day to devour it. In this case, I was lucky enough to jump the release day window when Laurel kindly sent me an ARC (though to be fair, I kind of subtlety whined about it on FB, when I said I was jealous a buddy of mine had already read it and Laurel DM’d me! And I stand by jealousy from that time, HA!!).
Everything about this one screamed to me that it would destroy me. Trevor Henderson cover. Check. A sibling dying under mysterious circumstances. Check. Laurel Hightower writing it. Check. Everything Laurel writes is gold, but sometimes, like in this case, its gold wrapped in golden gold. What I mean is, this one was solid gold.
What I liked: The story that unfolds within focuses on Nathan Lasco and the surviving siblings who have lived all these years after their brother died. While nothing had ever been confirmed, they all believe it was their mother who killed him, behind that closed door, though she’s always insisted a malevolent entity was behind his death.
When Nathan finds out that a film crew wants to get them all back together, the kids and his estranged mom, he hopes things will finally come out and a confession can be obtained.
It’s from this point on that Hightower gives us one of the most infuriating, gas-lighting and self-centered bitch of a character you’ll ever read. Not since Caitlin Marceau’s ‘This Is Where We Talk Things Out’ have I been this frustrated and a big part of that is just how fucking accurate the depiction within of the mother is. She’s one of those people who suck you dry, slurp the energy from the room and somehow make you feel bad and that you’re the one who did everything, not her. Time and time again, literally in every single paragraph that she appears in – and many where she’s being mentioned – this character ignites a fury in the reader and will piss you off so much that you want to just scream at the top of your lungs for somebody to walk over to her and just smack the shit out of her.
Hightower nails this character, and typically, knowing how she operates, this character is based off someone specific, which ramps up that fury and passionate dislike even more.
Nathan himself is a very complicated character, one who you both feel for but also wish he’d get things together. He comes off as a guy who is willing to try and turn things around, but not willing to go all the way, other than his firm belief that nothing paranormal occurred all those years ago. That is, until the repressed memories start to return and we get snippets of a darkness that walked the hallways and lurked in the corners.
Between the anger that the mother creates in the reader and the sheer terror Hightower creates throughout, this novel had me hooked and hooked hard. It was something that called to me when I wasn’t reading it and I love when a book does that.
The ending of the events and the revelation of what really happened was both cathartic and horrifying and really worked well to show the bond of the siblings, who they themselves were solid, if not secondary characters, but to also answer the question about whether this was a haunting or not.
What I didn’t like: While Nathan’s boss/crush was a solid character, I wasn’t really sold on her ending aspect within the novel. I can’t share more than that, for spoilers, but her role was great otherwise, I just don’t know if it was a way to try and utilize her in the future for a second book, which it kind of felt like.
Why you should buy this: Hightower never holds back from unleashing terror and this is yet another reason why she’s a must-read author for me. From start to finish this rips along and as the lights dim and the stairs creak, she does a wonderful job of scaring the shit out of the reader. All while making them want to slap that person who gaslights them in real life, because we can’t slap this fictional mother.
Which is such a shame.
When one of your favorite authors announces they have a book coming out, you get excited, you preorder it and then you patiently wait for the release day to devour it. In this case, I was lucky enough to jump the release day window when Laurel kindly sent me an ARC (though to be fair, I kind of subtlety whined about it on FB, when I said I was jealous a buddy of mine had already read it and Laurel DM’d me! And I stand by jealousy from that time, HA!!).
Everything about this one screamed to me that it would destroy me. Trevor Henderson cover. Check. A sibling dying under mysterious circumstances. Check. Laurel Hightower writing it. Check. Everything Laurel writes is gold, but sometimes, like in this case, its gold wrapped in golden gold. What I mean is, this one was solid gold.
What I liked: The story that unfolds within focuses on Nathan Lasco and the surviving siblings who have lived all these years after their brother died. While nothing had ever been confirmed, they all believe it was their mother who killed him, behind that closed door, though she’s always insisted a malevolent entity was behind his death.
When Nathan finds out that a film crew wants to get them all back together, the kids and his estranged mom, he hopes things will finally come out and a confession can be obtained.
It’s from this point on that Hightower gives us one of the most infuriating, gas-lighting and self-centered bitch of a character you’ll ever read. Not since Caitlin Marceau’s ‘This Is Where We Talk Things Out’ have I been this frustrated and a big part of that is just how fucking accurate the depiction within of the mother is. She’s one of those people who suck you dry, slurp the energy from the room and somehow make you feel bad and that you’re the one who did everything, not her. Time and time again, literally in every single paragraph that she appears in – and many where she’s being mentioned – this character ignites a fury in the reader and will piss you off so much that you want to just scream at the top of your lungs for somebody to walk over to her and just smack the shit out of her.
Hightower nails this character, and typically, knowing how she operates, this character is based off someone specific, which ramps up that fury and passionate dislike even more.
Nathan himself is a very complicated character, one who you both feel for but also wish he’d get things together. He comes off as a guy who is willing to try and turn things around, but not willing to go all the way, other than his firm belief that nothing paranormal occurred all those years ago. That is, until the repressed memories start to return and we get snippets of a darkness that walked the hallways and lurked in the corners.
Between the anger that the mother creates in the reader and the sheer terror Hightower creates throughout, this novel had me hooked and hooked hard. It was something that called to me when I wasn’t reading it and I love when a book does that.
The ending of the events and the revelation of what really happened was both cathartic and horrifying and really worked well to show the bond of the siblings, who they themselves were solid, if not secondary characters, but to also answer the question about whether this was a haunting or not.
What I didn’t like: While Nathan’s boss/crush was a solid character, I wasn’t really sold on her ending aspect within the novel. I can’t share more than that, for spoilers, but her role was great otherwise, I just don’t know if it was a way to try and utilize her in the future for a second book, which it kind of felt like.
Why you should buy this: Hightower never holds back from unleashing terror and this is yet another reason why she’s a must-read author for me. From start to finish this rips along and as the lights dim and the stairs creak, she does a wonderful job of scaring the shit out of the reader. All while making them want to slap that person who gaslights them in real life, because we can’t slap this fictional mother.
Which is such a shame.
August 11, 2024
Surprisingly, The Day of the Door is neither a gripping tale of carpentry nor a DIY guide to home improvement. Nope. It is, instead, one of the best horror stories I read this year.
It works on all levels that count (for me) in horror - it ties tight plotting with strong character work and good pacing. The story revolves around a dysfunctional family. Lasco siblings, raised by narcistic Stella, share childhood trauma. They meet again, this time with their mother and a paranormal investigative team to discover the truth about a hellish night that ended their childhood. One thing is sure - their eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors. But how, why, and by whose hands? Stella claims she was a victim, too.
The book opens with a brutal scene and has a shocking end. Everything that happens in between feels perfectly timed, well-thought-out, and true to the narrative and circumstances. Unresolved family trauma and a history of abuse tie siblings. Their shared dislike (hate even?) for their mother results in an interesting family dynamics. And I get it - Stella is a terrible person with no redeeming qualities. And that’s what elevates The Day of The Door above most horror novels that use the trope of a film crew in a haunted location. I mean, it’s clear bad things will happen and we’ll get jump scares, but Hightower gives us much more.
As the sibling slowly discover the truth, we get a glimpse at what impact trauma has on family and its members individually. It’s the story about the kids and we spend enough time in their heads to make their responses to events authentic. The scares are real, too.
The Day of the Door is an excellent, often terrifying psychological horror that got to me. Also, this cover is nuts!
It works on all levels that count (for me) in horror - it ties tight plotting with strong character work and good pacing. The story revolves around a dysfunctional family. Lasco siblings, raised by narcistic Stella, share childhood trauma. They meet again, this time with their mother and a paranormal investigative team to discover the truth about a hellish night that ended their childhood. One thing is sure - their eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors. But how, why, and by whose hands? Stella claims she was a victim, too.
The book opens with a brutal scene and has a shocking end. Everything that happens in between feels perfectly timed, well-thought-out, and true to the narrative and circumstances. Unresolved family trauma and a history of abuse tie siblings. Their shared dislike (hate even?) for their mother results in an interesting family dynamics. And I get it - Stella is a terrible person with no redeeming qualities. And that’s what elevates The Day of The Door above most horror novels that use the trope of a film crew in a haunted location. I mean, it’s clear bad things will happen and we’ll get jump scares, but Hightower gives us much more.
As the sibling slowly discover the truth, we get a glimpse at what impact trauma has on family and its members individually. It’s the story about the kids and we spend enough time in their heads to make their responses to events authentic. The scares are real, too.
The Day of the Door is an excellent, often terrifying psychological horror that got to me. Also, this cover is nuts!
March 24, 2024
Omg, what a roller coaster ride of grief and familial abuse! First of all, this cover is incredible, Trevor Henderson can do no wrong in my eyes! Next, this story was so fantastic!! Four siblings go through years of abuse from a narcissistic mother until one night something horrible happens behind the door. Years later ghost hunters want to do a show on the family and the house they lived in. Laurel creates a a suffocating atmosphere where you’re afraid to breathe!! So much sadness and grief, but a buildup that you won’t want to take your eyes off of! A terrific ending, and characters that I felt so much for. This is one I will be definitely recommending!!
August 8, 2025
Four siblings against all odds, and an extremely abusive mother with nobody else to protect them. Then one day the eldest brother Shawn died violently after being dragged behind closed doors by their mother to never be seen again.
The siblings then years later try to reveal the truth on what happened that awful night.
This book wasn't the extreme horror that I was expecting, but it was so good, nonetheless. It gave me a sense of dread as I was reading it and spooked me throughout reading. I was genuinely freaked out at some parts and books don't tend to do that to me. The paranormal elements were done so well also.
I really enjoyed this one!
The siblings then years later try to reveal the truth on what happened that awful night.
This book wasn't the extreme horror that I was expecting, but it was so good, nonetheless. It gave me a sense of dread as I was reading it and spooked me throughout reading. I was genuinely freaked out at some parts and books don't tend to do that to me. The paranormal elements were done so well also.
I really enjoyed this one!
May 30, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Creepy, emotional, and deeply unsettling in the best way. Hightower blends supernatural horror with raw grief and guilt, building dread that sticks with you. A slow burn that pays off hard — definitely don’t read it outside at 4 a.m. like I did.
Creepy, emotional, and deeply unsettling in the best way. Hightower blends supernatural horror with raw grief and guilt, building dread that sticks with you. A slow burn that pays off hard — definitely don’t read it outside at 4 a.m. like I did.
December 18, 2024
The first 30 pages were slow, but the pace picked up quickly afterward. The story was incredibly creepy, I could actually feel my heartbeat quicken during certain parts. I absolutely loved the book!
May 6, 2024
Eyes. Teeth. Fingers. Oh my!
This was a slow-burning grief horror ghost story that really had me gripped. Each turn of the page, pulled me deeper and deeper into the mystery of this tale. So deep, that when the terror hit, it hit hard.
Oh, my poor emotions!
Although this is a short review, it comes with huge stars.
Loved it very. 🖤
This was a slow-burning grief horror ghost story that really had me gripped. Each turn of the page, pulled me deeper and deeper into the mystery of this tale. So deep, that when the terror hit, it hit hard.
Oh, my poor emotions!
Although this is a short review, it comes with huge stars.
Loved it very. 🖤
April 24, 2024
So, this was my second Laurel Hightower novel and man oh man did I enjoy this one.
Shawn, Nate, Aury and Katy Lasco, grew up in a volatile and tumultuous environment with their mother Stella. After facing years of abuse, one-night things take a turn for the worse when their eldest brother Shawn is brutally murdered. Stella swears she didn't kill Shawn, some unknown malevolent force is responsible. No one knows the truth, no one knows what really happened behind that door on that fateful and gruesome night. Twenty years has passed, and the remaining siblings still harbor guilt, resentment, hatred, trauma and are still struggling to cope with the loss of their brother. When Nate is approached by his youngest sister Katy, who along with their estranged mother, wants to hire a paranormal investigation team to enter their childhood home and finally uncover the evil that lurks and resides there.
Is there mother telling the truth? Is some unknown entity responsible for the death of their brother. Or is the true evil their own flesh and blood?
I loved this book so much that I binged it in one day. I could not look away from this dysfunctional family and found myself completely engrossed in this story. The book is fast paced, spooky, has an overwhelming sense of foreboding and lots of family drama. I loved the characters and the whole gothic feel of this one. There seriously was never a dull moment and I was transported onto the pages of this book and with these characters. I felt every bit of fear, grief, anger and frustration they felt along the way.
Laurel skillfully and beautifully intertwines childhood trauma and grief into this spooky read without ever taking away from the true storyline. This book has so many layers to it, and I loved every minute of it. That ending was so intense and suspenseful, yet simultaneously poignant and beautiful as the Lasco siblings finally got vindication for their brother and closure for themselves.
The Day of the Door skillfully combines the psychological thriller genre with the supernatural horror one and will captivate you from beginning to end. A very enjoyable few hours were spent reading this one and it was a solid five star read for me.
Thank you to Booksirens, Ghoulish Publishers and Laurel Hightower for eARC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.
Shawn, Nate, Aury and Katy Lasco, grew up in a volatile and tumultuous environment with their mother Stella. After facing years of abuse, one-night things take a turn for the worse when their eldest brother Shawn is brutally murdered. Stella swears she didn't kill Shawn, some unknown malevolent force is responsible. No one knows the truth, no one knows what really happened behind that door on that fateful and gruesome night. Twenty years has passed, and the remaining siblings still harbor guilt, resentment, hatred, trauma and are still struggling to cope with the loss of their brother. When Nate is approached by his youngest sister Katy, who along with their estranged mother, wants to hire a paranormal investigation team to enter their childhood home and finally uncover the evil that lurks and resides there.
Is there mother telling the truth? Is some unknown entity responsible for the death of their brother. Or is the true evil their own flesh and blood?
I loved this book so much that I binged it in one day. I could not look away from this dysfunctional family and found myself completely engrossed in this story. The book is fast paced, spooky, has an overwhelming sense of foreboding and lots of family drama. I loved the characters and the whole gothic feel of this one. There seriously was never a dull moment and I was transported onto the pages of this book and with these characters. I felt every bit of fear, grief, anger and frustration they felt along the way.
Laurel skillfully and beautifully intertwines childhood trauma and grief into this spooky read without ever taking away from the true storyline. This book has so many layers to it, and I loved every minute of it. That ending was so intense and suspenseful, yet simultaneously poignant and beautiful as the Lasco siblings finally got vindication for their brother and closure for themselves.
The Day of the Door skillfully combines the psychological thriller genre with the supernatural horror one and will captivate you from beginning to end. A very enjoyable few hours were spent reading this one and it was a solid five star read for me.
Thank you to Booksirens, Ghoulish Publishers and Laurel Hightower for eARC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.
May 3, 2024
The Day of the Door is ABSOLUTELY terrifying!!
Laurel Hightower knows how to deliver a punch to the gut with her writing! In The Day of the Door, she gives us the haunted house I'm going to have nightmares about for months. This story follows a family traumatized by possession and death. However, when they get the option to revisit the sequences of that day with a paranormal investigation team, secrets are revealed and the truth is deadly!
I was shocked by how quickly I devoured this story! I really loved the way that this was written and was quickly enraptured by the story and characters. Nate in particular had such a witty (and pessimistic) way of thinking that I felt like it really pulled me in to start, but stayed because all the other characters had me hooked. Also, when the plot thickened and the reveals started happening my jaw was on the ground. Especially with the last chapter?!? Literally such a fantastic book!
Laurel Hightower knows how to deliver a punch to the gut with her writing! In The Day of the Door, she gives us the haunted house I'm going to have nightmares about for months. This story follows a family traumatized by possession and death. However, when they get the option to revisit the sequences of that day with a paranormal investigation team, secrets are revealed and the truth is deadly!
I was shocked by how quickly I devoured this story! I really loved the way that this was written and was quickly enraptured by the story and characters. Nate in particular had such a witty (and pessimistic) way of thinking that I felt like it really pulled me in to start, but stayed because all the other characters had me hooked. Also, when the plot thickened and the reveals started happening my jaw was on the ground. Especially with the last chapter?!? Literally such a fantastic book!
March 8, 2024
A family gathers at their old house to get to the bottom of the death of the eldest son, which might have been caused by some paranormal entity or just by their abusive mother, all while a film crew is following them, catching images for their low budget supernatural show.
I got this book in advance in exchange of an honest review, and here it is: This is a great horror book. It's not hard to think of Paul Tremblay's A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS by reading the synopsis alone, and it does share some plotlines, but this is its own work. A fast read, with good dialogue on most occasions (especially between our protagonist Nate and his mentor), and a genuine creepy vibe. A solid, honest to god scary book.
My only complaint: I'd love for it to be longer, with Stephen King-style extended flashbacks, to sell us the family's previous life more thoroughly, but that's just an style preference; the actual content is great.
So yeah, I fully reccomend this book for anyone into spooky stories and family trauma to iron out.
I got this book in advance in exchange of an honest review, and here it is: This is a great horror book. It's not hard to think of Paul Tremblay's A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS by reading the synopsis alone, and it does share some plotlines, but this is its own work. A fast read, with good dialogue on most occasions (especially between our protagonist Nate and his mentor), and a genuine creepy vibe. A solid, honest to god scary book.
My only complaint: I'd love for it to be longer, with Stephen King-style extended flashbacks, to sell us the family's previous life more thoroughly, but that's just an style preference; the actual content is great.
So yeah, I fully reccomend this book for anyone into spooky stories and family trauma to iron out.
February 15, 2024
This below is from my blurb. Loved this book. Shadows look different to me now.
"The Day of the Door by Laurel Hightower is a sparking crucible of family strife from its brutal opening scene to its shocking end. Three adult children, whose lives have been shattered by the trauma of their brother's death, finally get to confront the person responsible: their mother Stella. But that isn't the whole story, is it? The Day of the Door is a propulsive, often terrifying read that diced my nerve endings. Take a deep breath before you dive in because Hightower always holds you under."
Read it.
"The Day of the Door by Laurel Hightower is a sparking crucible of family strife from its brutal opening scene to its shocking end. Three adult children, whose lives have been shattered by the trauma of their brother's death, finally get to confront the person responsible: their mother Stella. But that isn't the whole story, is it? The Day of the Door is a propulsive, often terrifying read that diced my nerve endings. Take a deep breath before you dive in because Hightower always holds you under."
Read it.
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