I plumped for The Toll House on whim, as I finished my last physical book while out of the house and wanted to make a start on something new. I bought this on Apple Books last year as the premise intrigued me and the cover is beautiful, then I promptly forgot about it for the remainder of 2023. Finding it in my digital book list was a pleasant surprise, so I dove straight in.
The Toll House centres on Kelda, who has just moved to the countryside with her little boy Dylan into the old toll house on the Turnpike Road. The house is hundreds of years old and set in a beautiful rural landscape. 160 years prior it belonged to Joseph Walton and his wife, Bella. He manned the turnpike on the way into Stonybridge, taking the tolls from the carriages travelling in and out of the village. Tragedy strikes, which Joseph struggles to come to terms with, and it haunts him until his final days. In the present day Kelda finds a death mask concealed within a wall of the house. She constantly feels like she’s being watched, and Dylan’s behaviour becomes more difficult as time progresses. It is not a happy house, and Kelda is determined to find out why.
I finished this one within a couple of days as it was such an easy read that was instantly engaging. It was a typical haunted house story, with so many creepy moments, spine-tingling scenes and a genuinely interesting backstory to keep up the intrigue the whole way through. The full story and the outcome weren’t glaringly obvious, which I do enjoy in a spooky read, and the chapters going between present day and the 1800s were a good contrast.
Much as I enjoyed The Toll House I did feel like the characters could’ve been rounded out more, and I questioned why some of the sub-plots were written in that didn’t bring anything to the overall story (I’m keeping it vague in fear of spoilers!). Small niggles aside it was a really good modern approach to a ghost story and set me feeling on edge, glancing behind me on many pages throughout because it was quite unnerving. There were a few twists that I wasn’t expecting and the pace flowed well through the whole book, which I finished in two sittings.
For a creepy read that’ll keep the pages turning The Toll House is worth picking up, just maybe keep a light on to see you through the more chilling bits…
Rating: ✨✨✨✨
No comments
Post a Comment