Julie's Reviews > A Good House for Children

A Good House for Children by Kate Collins is a 2023 Mariner Books publication.


I am sure what drew me to this book was that it was categorized as ‘Gothic’. I know by now not to get my hopes up too high- and though I am loathe to point out the lukewarm reviews- I didn’t allow that to keep me from at least giving the book a chance. As it turns out, my instinct was right.

The story has a dual timeline- normally not a favorite of mine as I’ve grown weary of it- but it wasn’t as annoying as I’d feared, and was in this case, necessary to the story, though occasionally the switch between timelines could be a little jarring. Regardless, the story definitely has a ‘Gothic’ tone. A big old mansion, isolated, with a heroine left mostly alone with her children…

Perfect setup all on its own- but we also have the alternating story- same house, different time, different inhabitants- but with the same malevolent atmosphere.

The author has studied the Gothic horror genre and did a great job of creating that thick, heavy atmosphere of foreboding. One is never really sure what’s going on- madness? A haunting? Or some other sort of evil presence? Again, classic Gothic.

That said, I know some folks might not understand that this genre is nearly synonymous with slow pacing- it’s an element that is nearly always present. This book is no exception. It’s slow- but the reader is drawn into an increasing feeling of dread, probably more than they realized or were willing to admit. It is also not a novel of crime fiction- which when we see the book classified as a mystery/thriller we tend to jump to that conclusion- something I have been guilty of myself on occasion. This is a mystery/thriller- but not a traditional whodunit murder/detective stuff. Maybe the word ‘chiller’ would be more apt- but that word seems to have been forgotten these days.

The story puts me in mind of some of the books I read as teen- Gothic horror stories that were creepy, ambiguous, and disturbing. It seems to be a lost art considering how we have become too accustomed to breakneck pacing, a dependence on action sequences and crazy twists and turns turning us into lazy, impatient readers who can no longer appreciate the extra work required of us, relish the delicious anticipation, or understand the subtle, but intense, heightened psychological suspense this novel is.

Overall, a terrific example of Gothic Horror- modernized- absorbing and quite effective. It wasn’t one hundred percent perfect, and it would have been just as effective, maybe even more so, without the strong language- but I thought the author did an admirable job with it. This is a debut novel and while some readers didn’t really ‘get’ the novel- Kate Collins got it right, in my opinion, and I’ll be looking forward to her next novel!

4 stars