Horror Book Review: Don't Look Back by Ben Cheetham
This week’s Horror Book Pick is DON’T LOOK BACK written by Ben Cheetham.
The horror novel was published in December 2018 and is on the bestseller’s list for Goth Horror and Psychological Thrillers.
Don’t Look Back in the first book in the Fenton House series, which means, this book has a sequel. But does it leave the story on a cliffhanger? Or does it give proper closure?
Most importantly, is this book worth reading?
Yes, it is very much so.
The first chapter of Don’t Look Back may not be an easy read for parents. We meet Adam, who is an author, struggling to get some words in as his twin sons Jacob and Henry keep interrupting him.
Just as he gets to writing again, his wife, Ella appears, all dressed up to go out. Adam is tasked with watching over the eleven-year-old twins but he is distracted over trying to overcome his writer’s block.
It is when he hears a crash and the sound of shattered glass that he rushes over to find Jacob lying in a pool of blood, and Henry barely conscious. Apparently, their wrestling game has ended in tragedy.
Adam makes it to the hospital in time but Jacob is pronounced dead after running through glass. Henry manages to make it out alive.
Nine months later, the grieving family can barely pull themselves together. Ella comes across an odd ad for Fenton House. The house is being given away for free, and anyone can apply but first them must complete a form and only the shortlisted applicants are called for an interview.
Adam, at first dismisses the idea. But one night, desperately seeking for distraction, he decides to apply and is immediately emailed back, informing him that he has been shortlisted.
Adam and Ella head out to Fenton House and there is utter chaos on the streets as the crowd is desperate to know how to get a free house and what answers were used in his application.
Adam and Ella barely make it inside the house to talk to Rozen Trehearne. She asks them about why they want to live in the house, and Adam and Ella tell her about Jacob.
The sample ends here but based on the book summary, the couple gets to live in the house and experience a haunting.
To Read or Not To Read?
Don’t Look Back is engaging from the very first page. Adam is a relatable writer struggling to find the perfect word for a sentence that should have been so simple to write. But that is what Writer’s Block is: the endless pursuit of searching for the perfect word to articulate what you want to say with a story.
The boys are twins, yet Adam can differentiate between them because of their subtle differences, showing that he is a dedicated parent.
The accident, when it happens, is heartbreaking, though it is slightly rushed. One minute the son is laying on the ground, in the next Adam is rushing to the hospital and a second later, Jacob is pronounced dead.
But perhaps it was deliberately written in such a way to avoid dwelling too much on the pain and trauma the family was about to go through.
The author writes grief well and manages to use concise sentences to show how the characters have transformed after Jacob’s death.
While there are not much horror parts inserted from the very beginning, the accident in the first chapter is enough to make you feel a little disturbed as you read on.
Don’t Look Back is an interesting read and I would definitely want to put it on my list of horror books I want to read this year.
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