Review: The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb throbs with the threat of menace; this is an atmospheric, scary story, reminiscent of The Shining and had me racing to the finish late into the night to find out what happens next. Read this book - but do not do so when you're alone in the house at night and there's a storm outside, like I did. Big mistake. Creeped me out so much that I avoided going downstairs for the rest of the night.

The novel is eerie, entrancing, and thrilling. Webb's use of description launches you into the world of Lake Superior. You are given and intimate understanding of the entire town through his use of point of view. You grow to hate particular characters and you root for those you would never expect. It is not your typical horror novel. It lacks the extreme graphics in blood and gore but despite that it will still manage to give you a scare.

I could not put this book down and was wishing the journey went on a bit longer.
I would recommend her books, as I have stated before......enjoy the journeys set forth by a gifted author and story teller.