THE HOUSE AT MIDNIGHT

TITLE: THE HOUSE AT MIDNIGHT
AUTHOR: LUCIE WHITEHOUSE
Pages: 374
Date: 09/06/2008
Grade: 5
Library

Joanna and Lucas have been part of a group of friends since university. Now that they're all in their late twenties and working on careers, life still revolves around that friendship and spending time together. When Lucas' beloved uncle commits suicide , Lucas inherits his quite extensive wealth, part of which is a huge manor in Stoneborough. Soon the group are spending all their weekends in the manor. But the manor appears to be more then just a house, and it is soon having an influence on the dynamics in the group.
It starts when, after years of friendship, Lucas declares his love for Joanna, a development she at first delights in, but soon starts to doubt because Lucas appears to be changing, becoming obsessed with the house and his uncle's life and turning quite volatile.
As the year they spend visiting the house goes by, tension continues to rise, leading towards the shattering of truths, dreams and ultimately a violent ending.
This book strongly reminded me of THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt, but in this book that was not a bad thing, since it was original and tense enough to carry that comparison.
The only thing stopping this book from being graded a 5+ was the fact that it never convinced me of the House having a real influence on the proceedings. The house for me was only the stage on which the characters got to carry out their own destruction.