One House Left by Vincent Ralph

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.

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R.L. Stine meets Urban Legend in the next twisty horror novel by New York Times bestselling author Vincent Ralph.

“Ready or not. Whatever you do. The Hiding Boy is coming for you.”

Sixteen-year-old Nate Campbell grew up in the shadow of Murder Road – a street cursed by the vengeful spirit of the Hiding Boy.

Every few years, for nearly six decades, a different house on that street has been the scene of a tragedy.

Nate and his family move to a new town as they try to outrun the curse once and for all. But, when he is pulled into his new friends’ urban legend club, new ghost stories merge with old until there is nowhere left to run.

If you’re a fan of urban legends, then One House Left by Vincent Ralph is definitely a book you should check out. Playing around with Bloody Mary or Death Number 999-9999 is one thing, but living in an urban legend? That’s a whole different story.

For the most part, I wasn’t overly attached to our main character, Nate. Something was off about him – and not just the fact that he was oddly obsessed with Murder Road and keeping people away from there. He just wasn’t a character that I really connected with, to be honest. But sometimes you don’t need to connect with the characters.

I loved Max – she was someone I’d probably have been friends with when I was in high school. She’s fiery but she also has a soft side. She’s my favorite of the characters in this book.

The other two main characters, from whose point of view we get to see parts of the story, Seb and Tyler are interesting characters, but I didn’t really connect with either of them. They were more or less background noise – someone more for Nate and Max to interact with.

The plot for One House Left is fairly simple – Nate and his family used to live near Cherry Tree Lane, also known in the world of urban legends as Murder Road. Unfortunately, Murder Road isn’t just a legend, it is real. Now Nate and his family are on the run from Murder Road… but why? The twist is something you won’t see coming… and even then, it’s a slow burn twist to get the full story.

I didn’t have the massive “can’t put this down” feeling like I have for other books, but I also didn’t hate it. I still wanted to know what was happening, but it wasn’t as much of a burning need as it has been for other books. To be honest, One House Left is the first Vincent Ralph book I’ve actually finished. I tried to read Lock the Doors a couple of years ago and just couldn’t get into it. Maybe it is time to revisit that book, now that I have a better idea of Mr. Ralph’s writing style.

Vincent Ralph’s writing style is slow burn rather than fast paced. It will take you quite a while to get the main action. Sure, there will be bits and pieces to keep you entertained and help keep your attention, but to get to the good stuff, you’ll have to read over half the book. Trust me, it’s worth it.

The ending was great – it left the book with an ending that was both final and not at the same time. The book could have a sequel if Mr. Ralph wanted to write one, but it doesn’t need one. If he did write a sequel, I’d love to read it.

I’m giving this book 4 stars because it’s a great slow burn horror novel that will make you want to know more, but not to the point of obsessing over it.