REVIEW: The Haunting of Las Lágrimas (W.M. Cleese)

Book: The Haunting of Las Lágrimas

Author: W.M. Cleese

Premise: Ursula Kelp, a young gardener, travels from Buenos Aires to take up the role of head gardener at a long-abandoned estate in the Pampas. She arrives to warnings that the estate is haunted. And then strange things start happening – the sound of footsteps on gravel, the touch of hands when there’s no one there and, most strangely of all, the frenzied sound of a man chopping with an axe.

This is your classic gothic horror with a haunted house in the middle of the vast grasslands of Argentina. There was a slow build up of warnings and then odd happenings, which the protagonist initially found rational explanations for. But gradually the sense of unease builds. The axeman was a scary character and certainly made me wary when I went to bed! 

There are a few different mysteries which kept me wondering how they were linked. You don't find out the full background until after Ursula leave the house. Personally, I'd have liked a bit more explanation earlier as that would've added to the fear at the climax of the novel. I'd also have liked a bit longer with the family there to give more of a build up to some events.

But overall, a great read for this time of year!