Title: White Smoke
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: September 14, 2021
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Summary
Mari and her family are moving from California to a small Midwest town called Cedarville. All because her mom got placed in a fellowship with the Sterling Foundation, the nonprofit trying to put Cedarville back on the map. With their blended family, Mari is determined to put her past behind her and create a new start. No matter what.
That’s easier said than done when strange things start happening in their house. Things are going missing, there’s a weird smell coming from the basement, lights randomly go out. Therefore, it seems like their house might be haunted. And everyone in the Cedarville community knows it.
Review: White Smoke
Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! Generally, I’m not a horror genre kind of person, but I love everything that Tiffany D. Jackson writes. No exceptions here! As her first foray into the horror genre, it accomplished all of its spooky glory. For the most part.
First, Jackson does a great job from the beginning creating a spooky atmosphere, one where you know something sinister is going on right from page one. This book is pitched as Get Out meets The Haunting of Hill House, and honestly, that’s the perfect description for the way this book feels. For instance, things are happening behind closed doors, and no one really wants Mari and her family there. It just adds to the spooky nature of what’s happening in their house.
For the most part, the characters are well fleshed out and add a lot to the story. Mari has a severe phobia of bed bugs, and her anxiety is part of what helps in building the suspense. As events in the house start to escalate, I couldn’t put the book down!
However, the ending felt too abrupt to me. Honestly, there’s a lot of buildup for a great resolution, with parallels to what’s happening in the real world. We get a little bit of resolution, but I wanted more! Usually I’m okay with open endings, but another 10 or 15 pages I think would have pushed it to where it needed to be.
All in all, if you’re looking for a great spooky book to add to your fall TBR, this one will definitely fit the bill!
4/5 stars