Friday, March 22, 2019

Creepy Old House + New Pregnancy = Disaster


TITLE: The Chrysalis
AUTHOR: Brendan Deneen
PUBLISHER: Tor Books
PUBLISHING DATE: September 4, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: Welcome to the dark side of suburbia. 

Barely employed millennials Tom and Jenny Decker have to grow up fast when they lose their cheap Manhattan apartment. Leaving "the city" is hard, but the blow is softened when they stumble upon a surprisingly affordable house in the suburbs. 


For Tom, the bills, the mortgage, and Jenny's unexpected pregnancy add up to terror. He's not ready for this kind of responsibility. 


Then he finds the thing in the basement. It makes him feel like a winner even as it scrambles his senses. A new job soon has him raking in the big bucks--enough that Jenny can start making her entrepreneurial dreams come true. 


The Deckers' dream home conceals more than one deadly secret. As Tom's obsession with the basement grows, Jenny realizes that to save her family, she must expose everything. Before it destroys them all. 


No one ever really wants to grow up...but sometimes behaving like an adult is the only way to survive. 



MY THOUGHTS: I've basically wanted to read this book since it first came out so I finally cracked down and decided to make time for it.  Boy am I glad that I did. So Tom and Jenny are your basic millenials.  Tom is a bartender and Jenny basically hangs out with him at the bar when not working her job as a personal trainer.  One day they receive a notice that their rent is increasing and they will no longer be able to afford it.  They start house hunting and are shocked when they score a huge old house outside city limits.  Soon after moving in, Jenny learns she is pregnant and both of them are forced to grow up.  However, the glowing blob in the basement has other ideas.

I really enjoyed "The Chrysalis" and pretty much read it in a day.  Every time I put it down, I would quickly pick it back up and convince myself I'd read just one more chapter.  I don't know that I ever fell in love with either Jenny or Tom as characters, but they were likable and I wanted to find out what was happening to them.  As the story unfolds, Tom's obsession with the chrysalis he discovers in the basement takes over and boy does it take a toll on the relationship.  Add that to the red stain on the kitchen floor which never quite disappears and you just know the book is headed down a road toward disaster.

"The Chrysalis" isn't what I expected.  Initially I thought it was a haunted house tale but instead I ended up with more of a haunted individuals tale.  And it worked.  I was even pleased with the ending and was glad that the author wasn't afraid to take some chances.  I will warn people who have little tolerance for whiny character that they might find Tom annoying.  When he basically had what equates to a mid-life crisis because he had to get a full-time job and cut his hair, I felt no sympathy.  However, on the whole, I think any horror lover might want to give this book a try.  In addition, I think someone new to horror might even like this because I kind of consider it "horror-lite." 

MY RATING:  4 Paws

20 comments:

  1. It sounds like a fabulous read, like a 1950s movie remade into a 21st Century novel. I want to read it!

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  2. Sounds good to me. And such a great cover. Your review has me most curious:)

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  3. I really enjoyed this too. And I'm glad it didn't go where I thought it would. I definitely want to read this author again😁

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    1. Yea I hope he comes out with a new one soon.

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  4. I think I'd want to kill Tom if he got whiny about working and cutting his hair! I think I better give this one a miss!

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    1. You know, when I am reading some books, I actually think "This person would drive Chuckles crazy." That's why I try to mention it in reviews because I know how much some of that stuff bothers you :)

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  5. I really want to read this one! (Even more so now.)

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  6. Okay the glowing blob in the basement has me super curious now lol!!!

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  7. Yeah, I think the characters were meant to be a little annoying, but I didn't mind too much because it felt right with their stereotypical millennial archetypes. I think there are a lot of mixed reviews for this one because it turned out to be very different than what a lot of readers were expecting, but I ended up liking it a lot!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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    1. Oh yea it fit them well. And I didn't hate them. I just wanted him to grow up.

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  8. There is a thing called "horror-lite"? I like it. I must use that. I like a good spooky story and I am interested since it's not the house that is haunted.

    Mary

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    1. Well that's what I call it. I don't think it's a technical term but in my opinion, it's more a thriller than scary.

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  9. I really need to make time for this one!

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    1. Yes I think you'd like it. It's got some action.

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  10. Sounds creepy! Thanks for the heads up. 👍✨

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    1. I loved it so much more than I thought I would.

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