The House of the Wicked - Gothic Home Decor for Halloween & Dark Aesthetic Lovers | Perfect for Spooky Parties, Haunted Houses & Witchy Vibes
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Product Description
Some secrets will not stay buried… 1880: Stephen Denning is an artist heading for Porthgarrow. It is an isolated Cornish fishing community, largely untouched by the modern, developing Victorian world, hanging onto its old traditions, superstitions and beliefs – a community that lives with a disturbing secret. Denning is a reluctant visitor, and though he is supposedly joining his one-time artist friend Terrance Wilkinson to form an artists’ colony it is circumstances that force him there. Denning is still haunted by the brutal death of a young woman in Brittany, and shouldering guilt for the fact that he covered up for Wilkinson when he suspects the man had been involved with the murder. But Porthgarrow is haunted by its own demons. He learns about the savage murder of a woman by her husband Jowan Connoch, and Jowan’s son who has returned to Porthgarrow to uncover the truth and to clear his father’s name. Yet it is far from over. Before long three more people are destined to die in Porthgarrow before the village gives up its sinister secrets, and Stephen Denning will learn of his own family’s mysterious involvement. The house of the Wicked is peopled with larger than life characters – the powerful businessman Gerran Hendra and his beautiful daughter Jenna; the Reverend Biddle who collects photographs of the dead; Benjamin Croker, the journalist; Tunny, the village wise man; and the creature called Baccan – an ancient evil spirit that feeds off the evil of men. From its brooding Gothic beginning to its shocking and unexpected end, ‘The House of the Wicked’ is D. M. Mitchell at his darkest and most imaginative best.
Customer Reviews
I started with Blackdowne, went on to Flinder's Field, and now it's House of the Wicked. D. M. Mitchell consistently writes masterclass psychological thrillers that shift realities multiple times over the course of each novel. All these novels are excellent, finely plotted stories with devious characters that add up to some of best psychological thrillers available.Mitchell's characters are never what they appear to be on the surface. You learn after reading his novels to expect the unexpected, especially where innocent looking characters are concerned. They turn out to be wild murderers, or evil incarnate. It is virtually impossible to guess what is coming in a Mitchell story and that along with the intricately crafted plot keeps the pages flying by. The protagonist, Steven Denning is a younger son of a wealthy London family who has taken up painting as a career. His family seems a bit too concerned with his life, but whether this is due to the family reputation or for some other reason is not clear. He meets Wilkenson at art school in France, and they end up having a rather sordid history together.Years later Wilkenson invites Denning to Cornwall and the city of Porthgarrow to start an artist colony. The city is dominated by a pagan superstition of the God Baccun, who controls the waves, the winds, and the storms. He is said to feed off evil deeds which make him grow stronger. The town is held hostage to a myth regarding a single family.Mitchell does a masterful job at intertwining the two story arcs of the Dennings, with Steven in the lead role, and Porthgarrow as events drive people in the town to seek the truth behind the myth. These two drive each other forward until reality turns upside down three times.The final time reality takes a header is at the end of the novel, which was a real surprise and was one of those jaw dropping moments that just just blew me away. I can't conceive of a better ending for this story than this one.The Bottom Line: If you are looking for an intelligent read which plays with your perceptions of people and situations, along with murder, mayhem and madness, then this is the perfect book for you. Highly Recommended!
