House Of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill
From the author of the good ‘Apartment 16’, the dire ‘The Ritual’ and the excellent ‘Last Days’ comes this disappointing tale of an unhappy and disturbed young woman named Catherine. She is invited to value the estate of the long dead genius taxidermist and puppeteer M.H. Mason. But Mason’s old home has many secrets and Catherine’s sanity erodes. It sounds creepy but isn’t. Instead of gritty menace we get a mawkish tale of a crazy woman, her detested love rival, evil puppets, an empty village, centuries old weirdness, an old dark house and the hideous actuality of the Great Art. This is an incoherent, silly, infuriating mess that has a non-ending.
Best Lines:
“Things that no soul in the world has the skill to craft now.”
“Until she saw what was kept inside the dark room under lock and key.”
“Their justice can be terrible.”
“What did you bring into this house?”