Shutter House

by Rick Wood

Desperate for money to save her sick mother, Amber reluctantly agrees to rob a man’s house.

After all, the man is ridiculously rich and lives in a huge mansion. What’s more, he soaked an innocent woman with his Mercedes. He deserves it, right?

That’s what her brothers say, anyway.

Then, whilst inside this house, Amber enters a room on the top floor.

A room full of dead bodies.

That's when the shutters descend around the outside of the house.

They are trapped.

And he's home...

Shutter House is the heart-stopping horror novel from Rick Wood that reached the Amazon UK #1 spot in Horror Suspense. If you like your horror tense and violent, then you will love Shutter House...( This novel contains graphic violence - reader discretion is advised.)

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Splatterpunk, Amazon

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2019

About the author

Horror Author

Reviews

[Mort · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've given myself a few days, but I just don't think I can give this one a fair review.

The first 90% was at least four stars, but I hated the ending. And, for the life of me, I don't know why, because this is usually exactly the type of ending I prefer. I just had this huge feeling of disappointment when I was done.

I can recommend the prequel - THIS BOOK IS FULL OF BODIES.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was like being on a upside down roller coaster and being suspended in midair for hours on end as the heart thumping suspense kept me turning pages at break neck speed!

Small backstory:

What lengths would you go to save your mother if she was dying from cancer? That is what happens to three siblings (Amber, Luke, and Graham) as they would do anything to save their mom. A new treatment that is in the process of being tested is available and it could very well prolong their mother's life. The kicker though is the new treatment is way out of their price range and they have no way to afford it, UNLESS they get the money by other means.

Luke and Amber end up following a man in a Mercedes one night which leads them to a high class neighborhood with wrought iron gates. When they see that the man lives in a mansion they know that this is the place that would be loaded with all kinds of treasure. So begins their plan of robbing the house and they talk their brother Graham into accompanying them, however the siblings get a rude awakening when they find out that the man hides a terrible secret and what they find within some of the rooms in the house is when they know that they are doomed!

That is about all I can hand out with a small backstory so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

The cover of the book just basically drew me in, but when I read the blurb of the story, I had a feeling that it might be really good and I have to say that I was not disappointed! The author just grabbed me in the very first chapter and kept me in a state of "tortured" suspense throughout the rest of the book!

The story has lots of "slice & dice" action which kept me on the edge of my seat and it has lots of twists and turns which kept me wondering what was going to happen next! This was a great book by this author and I have more books to read by him in the future! Giving this book five "Slice & Dice" stars!

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy shit. What a roller coaster of emotions.

I think I just found a new author to binge read.

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stumbled onto this little gem by mistake when buying some horror novellas for my Kindle. The cover caught my attention first. Shutter House follows a common trope (one I happen to love), where our main character needs money fast and makes the decision, with her brothers, to rob a wealthy home owner - not knowing that the home owner is a serial killer. Shutter House is a ton of fun. I really liked the characters, including the demented home owner. Some cool kills, really fast paced and a great villain.

[Sharon Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

S good read with a good storyline. A families heartache and doing what they can as a family united. With a twisted ending. A good read and thoroughly enjoyable.

[mr stuart keate · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Page turner you don't want to miss!!!!

WOW, WOW, WOW, as always with Rick Woods books Shutter House has gripped me from the beginning to the very end and omg what a rollercoaster hell of a ride. It has everything a horror read would want it's horrific, gruesome and gory, this book has it all what a reader would want and more and more, excellently written that you can't turn the page's quick enough."

[clumsyplankton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the others I’ve read in this series but still pretty good. Very gory so be warned.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was bloody brutal. The book was written well. It had relatively shallow characters and I hated the antagonist until the end of the book. The ending... I liked that ending. The book was short, lots of bloody bits, lots of "yeah I could see that coming" followed by "I liked that though". There were a couple of spots where I saw an issue with continuity, but they were small and I didn't notice until after I put the book down for the night.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. 60% way through and just stopped caring. Predictable and boring.

[Mark Shayler (mark_reads_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desperate for money so they can pay for a drug trial to save their mothers life, Amber and her two brothers, Luke and Gray make a decision that they instantly regret. Realising that they would be unable to earn the amount of money needed for they drug trial, they decide to raise the cash by robbing shutter house, sounds like a simple smash and grab, but they weren't expecting what was behind those walls.
.
Fast paced and gore throughout, this is a great quick read for horror lovers, with likeable characters, a great plot, the odd twist and plenty of blood and violence, I couldn't help but love it.

[michelle Simons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hardly dare keep reading this story freaked me out so much, but in the same moment I just thought that I could not bear to stop.

Frightening, horrifying and yet extraordinary this book is spectacular.

[Ross Macpherson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This books posits the fascinating question: what if American Psycho were shit?

[Michelle Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are so many continuity errors between this and the book titled this book is full of bodies. There are so many things that change that can't be ignored. The killers first kill even changes which doesn't make sense, either the killer can't actually remember their first or the writer can't. If you read this as a standalone story then it's a great little story told from a victim perspective minus the ending which is cleverly done. If it was a standalone it would have easier got five stars.

[Lindsay Horsburgh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good horror as much as the next person but sadly thus did nothing for me. Yes it had the usual psycho/serial killer back-drop but the story just seemed a little.....pointless! More of a novella it didnt take me long to read. It wont put me off reading Rick Wood's other books but Shutter House was not for me.

[Christopher Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read

My first Rick Wood story and I have to say it was very well written with just the right amount of gore and horror to fit with the story. He has a unique style that takes you into the depths of insanity and human struggle. I look forward to reading more of his work.

[Jeff Jellets · Rating 3 out of 5]

”I was just wondering,” she said, “how easy it would be to rob a house.”

Rick Wood’s Shutter House defied my expectations – which is to both the book’s benefit … and detriment. The plot is a horror staple. Three siblings decide to rob some rich shmuck’s mansion for (as robberies go anyway) all the right reasons – only to discover far too late that the house is actually lair to a rather murderous sociopath.

To Wood’s credit, the character-work is good. Protagonists Gray, Luke and Amber are developed well-past simple victim one, two, three status and their motivation for their ill-advised criminal enterprise is … surprisingly sympathetic. Their antagonist vacillates from charming, to quirky, to repugnant … with the combination making him rather interesting … and even though the gist of things will feel like familiar ground for most horror fans, Woods executes the tale well enough to keep hold the reader’s interest.

The whole thing, though, ends rather abruptly (and rather nihilistically) … kind of proving the point of horror’s ‘final girl’ syndrome. For me, for horror to be ultimately entertaining, you kind of have to believe that the protagonists have at least a chance, right? Otherwise, it’s all a misanthropic, forgone conclusion. And for a killer who keeps boasting about how he likes to take his time with things … his on-camera kills are pretty summary … better time management or … dude, buy yourself a watch. There is a little end twist … which maybe worked a bit better before we all got wise to Jeff Epstein and his cronies … now I think we expect that most of the world’s billionaires are all actually secret arseholes.

Anyway … so Shutter House … kind of middle of the road horror … but good enough to at least make me willing to give another of Rick Wood’s books a whirl in the future.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber's working as a bartender in a strip club trying to save money to help her mother who has been diagnosed with cancer and is now in her final stages with one brother off to college and another one stuck on the streets selling drugs she is caring for her mother the best she can and to every extent of her will having spent all of her savings on one last doctor's visit with hopes of a cure he tells her that for $13,000 he can get her into a drug program that has 100% results having no way of being able to come up with this money and the short time frame needed she comes up with a plan to rob a rich man the timing works out perfect as her little brother is home from college and her older brother having the skills and plans needed to pull it off after deciding who they're going to Rob and how they're going to do it they set off into their journey of coming up with the money to save their mother little did they know the man's house they broke into has very different plans of his own and rich or not crazy is crazy

[Tabby Tierney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm intrigued and will be starting the prequel today! 3/5 only because it was kind of short and I would have liked more detail or backstory of the characters. I didn't see much character development and just kind of felt bad for everyone BUT the pov's were very cool.



*** Spoilers below! ***










Ok so I didn't love Amber but I felt very bad for her, especially when she was dying.

I loved the amount of gore and the descriptions were detailed enough to make it give me the ick which was awesome, especially during spooky season!

I was really hoping Amber would have snuck her phone with her when they went to the house and he would have somehow been caught in the end but I wasn't mad he wasn't caught.

I wish the book would have been longer to see if he did go and get the pigs he talked about in the beginning.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, and trust me. I am usually a huge lover of evil triumphing over good but it felt sloppy. I get that it was a rather short book, but it was disappointing. The only character I really liked was the bad guy. He was the only one who felt fleshed out. The rest kinda disappeared into the background, and there were a lot of questions that I had about the family. Why didn’t anyone call Graham to tell him his mother was so sick? Why wasn’t Luke helping Amber to pay for things or care for his mother? And so on. I just had a lot of questions about the dynamic that ended up making the characters rather wooden. I still plan on reading more by this author. I just hope his other works are better.

[Shannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber’s mum is deathly ill and Amber is tired of working in a dirty strip club making minimum wage. Amber wants to save her mother and she is willing to do just about anything to do that. She convinces her two brothers to rob this mansion. The guy is rich he wont miss the stuff they steal plus he is a real dick. But Amber and her brothers may have picked the wrong house to mess with and it could very well cost them their lives. I loved this book. It was fast paced and kept me hooked. Another home run from Rick Wood. This makes book number two that i have read of his and loved. Highly recommend!!!

[Escapereality4now · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded to 4



Shutter House, by Rick Wood, is the second book in the Splatter Blood Series.

Desperate for money so they can pay for a drug trial to save their mother's life, Amber and her two brothers, Luke and Gray, decide that they regret. They were not expecting to see what was behind those walls.

Shutter House gripped me from the beginning to the end. It was hard to put down. This short novella had a good amount of blood. There were some intense
moments throughout, which kept me engaged. I found the writing to be pretty solid throughout until the ending which underwhelmed me.

I did like the story. I recommend this fun book to slasher fans. I am ready for book 3.

[J.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by Rick Wood. I started with This Book Is Full Of Bodies which is the prequel to this one and really enjoyed both!

With its quick pace, deranged serial killer and a literal house of horrors that can be completely locked up with metal shutters this was an interesting read to say the least.

I really like Gerald as a villain. His way of thinking is definitely unique and even a little humorous at times. I wasn't the biggest fan of Amber though. To avoid giving too much away I'll just say her reactions could have been much better.

Would definitely recommend for slasher / serial killer fans.

[Johann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Read

Amber needs money to help her mom get a trial drug for Cancer but she's just a bartender and needs over 13000 pounds.

This is what leads them to a mansion outside of town. Desperate enough to rob the place since there is no other discourse, unfortunately this place just happens to be a serial killer's playhouse.

I enjoyed the story however there were some things, especially in the end, that made me ask questions concerning the choice making for Amber. Will not spoil here but other then that I did enjoy the book.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first horror book I've read in quite a while and I was surprised at how much I did enjoy myself.
I liked reading how the author wrote his serial killer, and while I felt the intro went on for a bit too long (though I'm guessing that's on me, I'm not familiar with the proper set up of the genre yet), It did make me want to read more books in that genre.
I'm happy this was my first proper horror book, it set a great standard.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book gets off to a great start, there is some thing about the ending that is profoundly unsatisfying. The writing is decent and the characters are well developed and for most of the book I was going to give it a much higher rating but there’s something about the perfunctory quality of the ending, as if the author lost interest or as if he suddenly realized that he already had the word count needed and had to wrap up the rest quickly.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I like about these sorts of slasher books is that they're always a bit shorter than average so the story stays tight.
I enjoyed the story and the concept, the whole "miracle cancer cure trial" was a bit twee but it got the job done. The characters are likable and the killer is interesting. I liked the ways that the author found to keep the events contained and keep the action short.
A fun and quick slasher book that's worth a read if you like the genre.

[Alicia Utter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 4/1o
Pages: 202

This book was a bit too ambitious for its writing ability. While the villain is intriguing, I feel like some of the evil build up was edited out or was never fully developed. I feel like some of characters were literally written into a corner. The twist is there. Just not a huge one. It's free.

Kindle Unlimited

[Patty U. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hang on

This book doesn't go the way you think it will! This story will grip you and not let go till a while after the last page. Three siblings are going to get in way over their heads when they break into a rich man's mansion. They are soon questioning their bright idea. You will be too.

[Litio Broie · Rating 2 out of 5]

De no haber elegido audiolibro en lugar de novela, pudiendo entretenerme con el acento del narrador (que es el autor), me habría sido imposible acabar la historia. Parece escrita por un adolescente y editada por su hermano de siete años. El argumento aburre y el gore tampoco es gran cosa. Probaré con alguna otra novela, a ver si me llevo una agradable sorpresa.

[Kerry Cahill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cracker!

Love reading anything by Rick! This book packs a punch 👊. A very intelligent serial killer; I could almost imagine Christian Bale in the lead role.
If you haven't read any of his books... where have you been?
TTFN 😊 Enjoy 😉.