An Ordinary House: A dark, horrifying thriller that you won't be able to put down

by Rae Starling

We lived in a house on Beech Avenue.

Outside-People say we're safe now.

But one of us wants to go back.

Back to that house and the darkness it held.

Police raid an ordinary house in a quiet suburban street and find a traumatised teenager held captive with his family. They call him a survivor, but he doesn't know what to believe. His memories don't match what his siblings and the press tell him about his home.

As he struggles to make sense of his new world, he must find and face the truth. With one of his siblings set on revenge, should he forget his family, or turn from victim to killer?

An unforgettable, horror-adjacent thriller about survival.

Genres: Fiction

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 3, 2026

Reviews

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

*An Ordinary House* by Rae Starling — 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Wow. *An Ordinary House* was one of those books that completely pulled me in and left me feeling increasingly unsettled the further I got. There is something especially disturbing about the idea that something horrific could be happening behind the walls of an ordinary suburban house, and Rae Starling takes that concept and turns it into a deeply psychological and gripping thriller.

The opening immediately grabbed my attention. The police raid a seemingly normal house and discover a traumatised teenager who has been held captive alongside his family. From there, the story becomes much more complicated because the biggest question isn't simply **what happened in that house?** It's **what can we actually trust about what happened?**

I really enjoyed the uncertainty surrounding the protagonist's memories. He's been removed from the only environment he's ever known, but the version of events he's being told doesn't completely match what he remembers. That made the story feel incredibly claustrophobic, even after he was physically removed from the house. The house may be behind him, but psychologically, he's still trapped there.

One of my favourite aspects was the exploration of **memory, trauma and perception**. The book does a great job of showing how difficult it can be to understand your own past when the people around you are telling you what you're supposed to remember and believe. I constantly found myself questioning what was true, what had been manipulated, and what the protagonist might eventually uncover.

The family dynamics were also incredibly unsettling. There is so much tension between the siblings, particularly with one of them wanting revenge. That added another layer to the story because suddenly the question becomes whether someone who has been victimised can become a perpetrator themselves. The book doesn't offer simple answers about good and evil, and I really appreciated that.

Despite being described as horror-adjacent, I actually think the psychological elements were what made this so frightening. There aren't necessarily monsters hiding around every corner. Instead, the horror comes from **people, family, control, manipulation and the things human beings are capable of doing to one another**. In some ways, that made the story much more disturbing.

I also loved the contrast between the ordinary setting and the darkness underneath it all. Beech Avenue sounds like somewhere completely unremarkable, which makes the events taking place there even more horrifying. There's something terrifying about the idea that a house can look completely normal from the outside while hiding something unimaginable inside.

The writing also kept me turning the pages. The story has a tense, almost suffocating atmosphere, and I really liked how Starling gradually reveals information rather than giving the reader everything at once. Every new piece of information made me rethink what I thought I understood.
There were definitely moments where I felt frustrated with the characters and wanted them to make different choices, but honestly, I think that added to the realism. Trauma doesn't always produce logical decisions, and the characters are dealing with incredibly complicated circumstances. Their reactions felt messy and human rather than neatly fitting into the usual thriller archetypes. I particularly enjoyed the moral questions running underneath the mystery. **When someone has been hurt, what happens when they decide they want revenge? Can a victim become something else? How much responsibility does someone have for their actions when they've spent their entire life being controlled?** These questions gave the book more substance than just being a straightforward thriller.

The story also has a really strong emotional core. Beneath all the darkness, there are moments that explore kindness, hope and the possibility of rebuilding a life after unimaginable experiences. I appreciated that the book wasn't simply interested in showing the worst things people can do. It also looked at the people who try to help and the possibility of moving forward. I wouldn't necessarily describe this as an easy or comfortable read. There are some very dark themes, and the premise alone is disturbing, but I found it incredibly compelling. It has that quality where you keep telling yourself you'll read "just one more chapter" because you need to understand what is actually happening.

By the end, I was left thinking about the characters and their circumstances rather than simply moving on to my next book, which is always a good sign for me.

Overall, *An Ordinary House* is a **dark, unsettling and emotionally charged psychological thriller** that explores trauma, family, memory, revenge and survival. I loved the way an ordinary suburban setting was transformed into something genuinely frightening, and the uncertainty surrounding the protagonist's memories kept me questioning everything.


A deeply unsettling and gripping read that gets under your skin. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that focus more on **trauma, unreliable memories, disturbing family secrets and the darker side of human nature** than straightforward action, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. Just maybe don't read it and then start wondering what's happening behind your neighbours' curtains... 👀🏠

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute gem! I was wondering when my next 5 star read was coming along as I’ve read a lot of good books lately but all sitting at 4 stars. This had that extra oomph.

The first thing to say is that you can’t review this book to the extent you want to as there is a MAJOR spoiler in the book that is central to the entire story. I recommend avoiding any reviews that warn you of spoilers or don’t read too many just in case until after you’ve read it as you really need to go into this not knowing what it is.

This would not have been the same book if I’d known of certain plot lines from the onset.

This is so incredibly well written. I was fully engaged and invested from first to last page and so impressed at obvious research the Author did for this book to shine (this is talked about at the end of the book). The writing style is easy to follow, not a moment of lag or lax writing here. I can tell this book had a lot of care taken to get it right.

It really is hard to talk of the plot and characters as much as I’d like to without spoiling it. So I’ll do the best I can. People are found in squalid captive conditions in an everyday house in a normal street where nobody had a clue. This is highlighting human trafficking and so much more. Their captor is ironically a Professor renowned for writing works on the impact of Stockholm Syndrome on those held captive who bond with their captors. You could say he’s doing very closely watched research.

OMG the characters. All of them. Freaking amazing. The first person perspectives are especially good, highly emotional at times and guaranteed to make you feel an awful lot. I swung from anger to sadness to frustration to awe. The power of human beings to survive horrific situations is astonishing. The brain’s capacity to try to protect you from trauma and abuse. The book takes you into the minds and experiences of the victims over and over again.

Whilst early on I got the gist of the big spoiler it’s done so well that I don’t know if every reader will pick it up at the exact same moment in the book. When you do you’ll be twice as invested. The more I read the more reveals kept coming and twists that I was just astonished at. I had questions early on in the book and was very satisfied that answers got revealed to me bit by bit. There is SO much good stuff packed in this novel.

This book really highlights the sad fact that human captivity, trafficking of people is not always in some seedy crime-ridden location. It can literally be going on in your street, in the house next door and you are none the wiser. It’s a fact that human trafficking is now a bigger money spinner for organised crime groups than drugs. Overtaken by a long shot. How often do you think about that? Not often I bet unless a case pops up on the news.

Peripheral characters like a quirky foster mum, and a determined psychologist all pulled me in. The dogged journalist who won’t let up on trying to get the full story pissed me off. The perpetrator I hated and the victims I cheered and also grieved for astounded me. Other outside characters you think are not important become significant with more reveals. The author also cleverly keeps one character, a victim so cleverly complex that my feelings on her were so mixed UNTIL the final curtain was pulled back. Then wow! Just wow. My heart broke more than once.

I REALLY hope this becomes a movie or TV series. If they cast it well it would be incredible watching.

There are some trigger warnings I should put out there for this but ironically some of them will give too much away. I’ll generalise it around abuse and violence of different types of both adults and children.

I SO wish I could talk more on the major reason why this book is so fascinating and worthy of five stars. I’m hoping you’ll just trust me on this one. I can’t recommend it highly enough. My review has only just touched the surface. Absolutely brilliant, this book made it into my favourite books AND favourite Author shelves on Goodreads. It’s been a while since that occurred. I want more from this amazing writer.

Thank you so much to the publisher Hera Books for my ARC via NetGalley! I am so glad I went for this one!

Thanks so much for taking a little time to read my review. Your likes and comments mean a lot to me. 😻 Feel free to add me as a friend or follow me for more book reviews.

If you are an Author or Publisher and would like to ask me to review any books my email address is in my bio.

[Cyndi Farfsing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t remember the last time a book made me feel this genuinely awful for this long. An Ordinary House is relentless, brutal, upsetting, deeply uncomfortable, and absolutely brilliant.

This is a difficult book to review because so much of its power comes from the way information is revealed. Going in blind was probably the best and worst thing I could have done. Every time I thought I understood what I was reading, another piece of context shifted my perspective. Every time I thought I’d found some emotional breathing room, the book quietly took it away. There was quite simply, no escape from the horror.

What impressed me most is that none of it felt manipulative simply for the sake of being shocking. The characters surrounding the central trauma are largely compassionate and competent. There are no conveniently stupid adults required to keep the story moving, no easy villains beyond those who have earned the title, and very few easy answers. The horror comes from watching people do their best in circumstances where sometimes their best simply cannot undo what has already happened.

There is an enormous amount happening here around trauma, memory, exploitation, agency, and the stories we construct about other people from incomplete information. I didn’t fully appreciate just how deliberately those ideas had been woven through the novel until I reached the end.

And somehow, after putting me through absolute emotional hell, it earns its moments of hope without pretending that survival magically erases what came before.

I cried. I was angry. At several points I genuinely wanted to stop reading because I didn’t want to know anything else. I also couldn’t put it down. I’ve never seen such a deeply visceral horror conveyed without a single graphic or gory scene. A master class in restraint, and a horror that you can’t escape because it slowly leeches in. Every small detail you think is innocuous? Nope, somehow it becalmed horrific later.

I will probably never read this book again.

Five stars. I hated it.

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ordinary house on Beech Avenue is where Prof lives and he’s the caremaster. One morning this quiet suburban calm is disrupted when Profs house is raided and it’s where a traumatised teenager and his family have been held captive. Scholar/Skoll now lives in a world of confusion, he doesn’t know who to believe, the outsiders who tell him he’s safe or his siblings who have a different perspective. As he struggles to make sense of it all, who will win out? A revengeful sibling or those in his new life? Justice or revenge?

Wow, this is a fantastic novel, totally gripping, startling and shocking. In addition, it feels so authentic as the author gets into the head of the central characters and it’s quite astonishing. I’m hooked by this from the start with Scholars confusion and his pain being palpable and lovely Sue, his Foster parent, who seems to love him and understand, and is constantly a reassuring presence. The world needs more Sues.

The plot is unquestionably dark, I like how it’s written from various points of view with inserts from the press. Inevitably, it seems in our society a story like this illicits a media frenzy and it becomes a circus where the rules of common decency no longer apply. The press don’t come out of this well – quelle surprise - as they manipulate for their own gain.

The storyline is constantly moving, twisting this way and that, continuing to surprise me. There’s heartache and heartbreak as Scholar navigates a world he can’t always comprehend, how he tries to survive the trauma in order to perceive the truth. The ending is so good, I can scarcely breathe, talk about tense and intense.

Overall, it’s an easy five stars from me as I’m absolutely fascinated and enthralled throughout. It’s so well written and a genuine page turner. Be sure to read the authors afterword.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hera Books for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

An Ordinary House by Rae Starling follows Scholar – or Skoll for short – a teenager suffering from multiple personality disorder, who spent years imprisoned in a room by a publicly respectable criminologist. Traumatised by his experiences and understandably lacking in social skills, Skoll must try to navigate a world he doesn't understand, while he yearns for the 'guidance' of the monster who imprisoned him.

This book had my attention from the first page. Scholar's story was heartbreaking as well as harrowing. This is a story that had a great deal of darkness within its pages, not to mention truly disturbing moments that needed no supernatural beings to make it into a horror novel. The banality of evil was truly on display. However, despite all that, the hope within was the most impactful.

Starling obviously did a lot of research while writing An Ordinary House. Thinking of similar real-life cases of imprisonment, the author did a fine job showcasing how the media cynically courts and twists public opinion on cases such as Skoll's for profit. It was at once depressingly familiar and darkly humorous.

I also thought that Scholar's condition was written with a great deal of care and didn't come across as exploitative or as a device for comedy or horror.

On the flipside of the cynicism shown by the public, or grifting by the media, the kindness shown to Scholar by his foster mother and other characters was genuinely heart-warming and did a great deal to offset the novel's dark subject matter.

While not wholly perfect, An Ordinary House was quite the page turner, and I was glad to have read it. It was thought-provoking in places.

Recommended.

With thanks to Hera Books for the ARC.

[Nicola Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A professional, respected man on an ordinary street. A boy and young woman held captive for years. The media circus and public opinion that results when someone finally tips the police off. And the life and inner world of the boy, and the young woman imprisoned with him, as they face freedom, and grapple with what survival has cost them.

I was immediately gripped by this dark and compelling story – it’s heart wrenching, yes, but it is also heartwarming, too, with a cast of characters many of whose humanity shines through in the face of evil.

Starling depicts the psychological effects of trauma with sensitivity and skill. We follow Skoll, the young man who is now “free”. But prisons don’t only exist in life, they also exist in the mind, and as the Prof’s conviction looks under threat, and Skoll longs only to get back to the only authority figure he has ever known, and the only life he understands, his inner cast of ‘siblings’ must lead him - or force him - to the truth of who his father figure really is, before he puts them all back in terrible danger.

I raced through An Ordinary House, compelled by this darkly powerful story. A tense, utterly gripping and unforgettable novel of survival in the face of unthinkable cruelty and the complex nature of resilience and revenge. One for fans of Room by Emma Donoghue and Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

[M.S. Hawthorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Ordinary House is an incredibly clever book, although I spent a significant amount of it completely confused, which I think was entirely intentional!

One of my favourite aspects was the decision not to give the story a specific year. The way the book handles dating and the passage of time is really clever, and it adds to the uncertainty running throughout the story.

The reveal surrounding the siblings and their alter egos was particularly well done. It made me reconsider a lot of what I'd read and helped explain some of the confusion I'd experienced along the way. This is definitely a book that wants you to question exactly what you're reading and how much you can trust your understanding of it.

I also absolutely loved the inclusion of the news articles. They were phenomenal and made the story feel incredibly immersive, adding another layer to the world and its events rather than simply explaining them.

This is a very heavy read at times, and occasionally it became a little too heavy for me personally. However, I also think the subject matter makes that weight necessary. It isn't always an easy or comfortable book to read, but it feels like an important one.

Clever, immersive and deliberately disorientating. I may have wanted a diagram at several points, but by the end I could appreciate just how intentionally the story had been constructed.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of An Ordinary House by Rae Starling in exchange for an honest review.

★★★★★

To be the cliche, I could NOT put this book down. It was disturbing and devastating. I was completely drawn into Scholar’s story and desperate to understand what had happened to him and what had really gone on inside that house.

I especially loved the outsider perspective. Watching Scholar try to make sense of the world around him reminded me of Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent, that feeling of someone trying to navigate a world and social reality that most of us take for granted. It made his journey incredibly compelling and heartbreaking. I was routing for his personal development the whole time (even though sometimes I wanted to shake him!).

I don’t want to say too much because so much of the impact comes from discovering the truth alongside Scholar. There were moments that genuinely made my stomach drop, and I felt the emotional weight of what he endured alongside him.

Dark, haunting, heartbreaking and incredibly gripping - everything I look for in a novel.

Five stars from me. An unforgettable read that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

[Alanna Metz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one heck of a book. I was hooked on the first page. A mix of Sybil and Room, this book was incredible from beginning to end. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I was proven wrong. Scholar is written so well, you feel as if you are actually seeing his thoughts and feelings. This was such a good book, I feel like I can't say it enough. This will be one for book clubs to read, as there is so much going on in this book you just want to discuss it with someone else. I was really blown away by it and it made me feel such a mixture of feelings. Pity, frustration, rage, sadness, joy... All of them were experienced by me at least once during this book along with many others. Its a book you can't put down but also feel a bit wrung out by when you're done because it has made you feel so deeply. It made me tear up at times. The ending wasn't what I expected but I was so happy for that payoff at the end. Everything is tied up neatly while also leaving a lot to the reader to interpret for themselves. One of the best books I've read this year.

I was given an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A teenager is rescued from squalid conditions in what's initially reported as a case of modern slavery. He's told he's safe now, but he's not sure what to believe. 'An Ordinary House' slowly reveals the truth of what happened at the house on Beech Avenue.

As other reviewers have mentioned, it's hard to review this book without giving away some of the major plot points. I really loved the overall concept of this book, and the inclusion of the news articles and comments was a real highlight for me.

Unfortunately I struggled to get invested in this one. I didn't enjoy the the narrative voice of the main character and found it frustrating how long it took them to work out what had been clear to the reader for some time. I understand that this slow revelation for the character was intentional, but it just didn't work for me.

That said, it was definitely an interesting book, and reminded me a little of Room by Emma Donoghue (which I admittedly did not finish as I also struggled with the narrative voice).

Thanks to NetGalley, Canelo, and Rae Starling for providing me with a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Charlotte Bigland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Ordinary House opens when teenager Skoll is rescued from the fetid bedroom where he has been held captive by a man called ‘Prof’ for years. We follow the aftermath: how Skoll adjusts to outside life, his conflicted feelings towards those who abused him, and what really happened in the house.

This was incredibly engaging, and I whizzed through it. Lots of action, short chapters and multi-media in the form of news articles, with comments. This was a highly bingeable book. But the best part was the writing, most notably Skoll’s narrative voice. It was an incredible portrayal of someone dealing with multiple personality disorder. Compelling, sympathetic, nuanced, eye-opening and never gimmicky. I could go on. But it was a really fascinating and thoroughly researched portrayal of the devastating after effects of captivity, and the consequences on the cast of characters was thrilling to read about.

[Jade Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Ordinary House is a breathtaking read, that leaves you gasping with all of its twists and turns, and dark aspects.

The plot truly benefits from Starling's extensive research into survivors of captivity and abuse, and mental health coping mechanisms. She undertook a PhD with a thesis exploring the media and how it can negatively affect victims who do not present in their stereotypical way to traumatic events. An Ordinary House depicts 'media manipulation and survivor exploitation' and the 'resourcefulness and agency of trauma survivors' and this informative manner to writing a fictional novel, really made the characters feel believable, and the plot immersive and thought-provoking.

For someone who doesn't tend to read non-fiction, but is interested in psychology, this book was an interesting way for me to explore a topic that I might have otherwise missed. There is also a thoughtfully included, list of recommended factual reading at the end, that thanks to this book, I will be dipping into!

It's hard to share my excitement of this novel without dropping big spoilers, but I would 100% recommend it. If you enjoy books that tackle difficult subjects, and are believable and thought-provoking, try this one - it will sit with you for a long time once read. Perfect for book clubs!

I'm so grateful to have got to read this one early as an e-arc! Thank you!

[Lynn Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I was pulled in right away by this amazing cover. Sadly stories like this one, although fictional, have basis in truth far too often. This is not an easy to read book. It deals with not only the depravity of humans but also the kindness of others, the hope that carries all of us through our lives and Rae Starling does a great job of interweaving these dichotomies throughout this novel. It truly is amazing what our brains can do - again, both in the punishing and violence but also in the protection of a body.

While this book is labeled as a horror type of book please know that this is a horror that exists in the world today - it is straight from the headlines, it's not a slasher/ghost story type of horror. Don't miss the Author's Notes at the end of the book - this is a very well-researched and intelligent novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rae Starling and Hera Publications for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This publishes September 3, 2026.

[AMY DURAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for the opportunity to read and review An Ordinary House by Rae Starling!

I want to start by saying this is not my perfered genre, I like supernatural horror, not psychological horror/thriller and a lot of the topics discussed in the story made me very uncomfortable. Did I like this book? Yes and no; the writing was wonderful and kept me hooked, the characters were well developed and empathetic, I just did not like the overall plot, I cannot stomach descriptions of violence against women and children.

That being said, just because I don't like a book does not mean it's not good, so 4 out of 5 stars based on the talent of Rae Starlings writing!

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. 44% in and Terf Wizards series was mentioned by name. I have a strict DNF policy of any book i ARC read that mentions the series by name.

As a small note, from what I did read, there were a few of medical impossibilities. A coccyx reconstruction is not a thing. And someone with a dissociative identity disorder wouldn’t be able to see their alters as hallucinations. Obviously, it’s possible there’s something to explain that later in the book. But i’ll never know.

[Sara Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

**thanks to Netgalley for this ARC**

This fast paced story looks at how captivity and abuse can affect its recipients.

I appreciate how Starling created a compelling book around a serious topic, creating something I both enjoyed reading (for the thriller aspect) and also gained insight from.

Some of this was hard to read and trigger warnings abound.

I’m unsure if Starling has more work but I am interested in trying if so.

QUOTE: “She didn’t believe that Prof’s jail sentence was a happy ending, doesn’t believe in endings of any kind, just different ebbs and flows on the same perilous timeline.”

[Tiffany Preston]

DNF @ 20%.

I just couldn't get into this. There were introductions to many characters and a lot of information that I was lost. Maybe I will try this book at a later time.

**Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Chinprai]

Good book

[OutlawPoet]

About to start, but I do think that the description of 'horror-adjacent' is concerning. It's a bit tentative, isn't it?