Today I’m bringing you a review of The Haunting by Natasha Preston, a YA Horror novel. This post is part of the TBR & Beyond blog tour for The Haunting.
I received this book for free from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
The Haunting by Natasha Preston Published by Random House Children's Books on 09/26/2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Action & Adventure / General, Young Adult Fiction / Horror, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / General
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // IndieBound
Goodreads
#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Natasha Preston is back with another pulse-pounding, twisty read!
Haunted by the past . . .
Penny's trying to forget about her ex, Nash. His father was arrested for the brutal murder of four teenagers on Devil's Night last year. Penny's parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It's hard not to think of what happened as spooky season gets underway—but she's trying.
That stops when she goes to the Halloween store with her friends to find a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: a classmate bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed.
Is a copycat killer on the loose? The adults are saying no. But Penny knows better.
If you’re looking for a Halloween themed YA horror novel, you won’t go wrong with The Haunting. But be warned, the title has nothing to do with ghosts.
Characters
We have a group of friends, one of them being ostracized by the town and the rest of the friend group – except for one person. They’re great characters, although you really only deal with two or three of them for most of the book. You’ll see Penny, Nash, and Zayn more than you’ll see any of the others, but they’re all mentioned several times as well. We don’t have a whole lot of background on any of them, but we don’t really need it and they’re written well enough that it doesn’t matter.
Atmosphere
It’s a serial killer at Halloween – what more could you ask for in an atmosphere? It isn’t Michael Myers (and we can all be thankful for that) but it doesn’t need to be. That being said, the atmosphere was fraught with tension because of the killings and it was pretty great.
Writing
Natasha Preston’s writing style is easy to read and makes it hard to put a book down. Honestly, it wasn’t the story or the writing that had me putting the book down, it was my iPad getting too heavy to hold up anymore. LOL I have another book of hers in my NetGalley queue and I’m really wanting to get to it now because she has a captivating writing style.
Plot
I really liked the plot to this book. A small town one year after a serial killer took the lives of five students. The killer, locked in a federal prison in another state. But now the killings have started up again. Is it a copycat or was the wrong person locked up for the first murders? And why is this killer focused so much on one of the friend group? It’s a great plot and very well executed.
Intrigue
I kept needing to know what was going to happen next. Would they find another body? If so, who would it be? Would it be someone we’d met in the story already or someone completely new? And who the heck was behind all this? I had my guesses on that one, but it took me a couple tries to get it right and there was a twist I never saw coming. So yeah, this book has intrigue.
Romance
You have to love the fact that neither Penny or Nash are really over each other – or out of love. No matter how cold Nash acts towards Penny, she still cares and Nash cares for her. It’s cute, it’s sweet, and it’s totally inappropriate with a serial killer on the loose… but that’s OK because they aren’t actually a couple at this point.
Ending
The ending is why this book got 4 stars instead of 5. I’m so angry about the ending… I can’t say much more because I’d spoil it but oh I was so mad I almost threw my iPad.
Conclusion
This book is a great read for the spooky season or any other time you like to read horror novels. There’s plenty of suspense and horror to go around with this one. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars and I do recommend it to anyone who likes horror novels during spooky season (or any other time).
About Natasha Preston
Natasha Preston is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Cellar, The Cabin, Awake, You Will Be Mine, The Lost, The Twin, The Lake, The Fear, and her latest, The Island. A UK native, she discovered her love of writing when she shared a story online—and hasn’t looked back. She enjoys writing romance, thrillers, gritty YA, and the occasional serial killer.
