I finished reading it in two days since it was so captivating from beginning to end. You never knew what was going to happen next, which made it suspenseful. A fantastic book with the ideal air of unease

I ended up loving How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix!
I love so many of their books so I was so excited to read this and I'm so happy that it lived up to my expectations!
It was such a fun horror read and I definitely highly recommend it!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Right. Okay. Right.

I'll start this off by saying I am terrified by ventriloquist dolls, porcelain dolls and puppets, and I have been ever since I was a child. They're scary and evil and my mind won't be changed. So imagine when this gal discovered said haunted house from the title is filled with puppets and dolls. Needless to say, it resulted in me reading this during daylight hours with my boyfriend in the room.

However, aside from my deep-seeded childhood fear, this book was everything! I loved it! Even though I wasn't too sure what I was expecting heading in, it delivered on every level. There were nail-biting moments, humor, jump-scares and heart, some twists thrown in for good measure too. It's just utter madness and I adored it! Although grief is a huge part of this novel, it doesn't take away from the terrifying and quirky feel of the book. There are, of course, some moments full of feeling and depth surrounding this topic but they're quickly moved on from.

I absolutely loved Louise and Mark. Their journey is far from the norm but I loved seeing their relationship develop. Their family is mad, and somewhat broken which I feel everyone could relate to in some small way. These two go through the absolute wringer but what a wild read it makes!

How to Sell a Haunted House is a must read read 2023, a truly bonkers read but worth every minute! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for thos advanced copy!

* Please research any trigger warnings before reading *

DNF @ 55%.

Perhaps it's my own fault for requesting a novel by an author I haven't enjoyed for many books now, but I can now say that I will not be picking any other novel by Hendrix up in the future.

Truth be told, I was planning on writing a really long, almost rant-review of this book and my thoughts on Hendrix as an author, but honestly? I'm too tired. I don't have the energy. It just makes me so sad to see this author constantly topping the horror charts and being praised when, personally, he doesn't deserve it.

The main issue I have with Hendrix, and this book, and all his books - is the way he writes women. Now of course, I don't know Hendrix well enough to judge his character from his writing; at the same time, your writing can be a reflection of your own personal thoughts and feelings. And, to me, he writes female protagonists in order to appeal to women, to come across as some woke feminist kind of author who toootally respects women - when, if you actually read his books, he comes across as the exact opposite. Every female protagonist he writes is the exact same, with only a couple of changes to try and make them look like completely different characters. I don't even remember the woman in this novel's name, that's how memorable she is. Additionally - and again, I don't know Hendrix like this but his writing definitely makes me think some things about him as a person - he uses these women as punching bags, dumping traumatic experiences and suffering on them to the point where I wonder if he enjoys this. Of course, horror as a genre inherently explores the horrific and terrifying; having read almost all of Hendrix's books (as well as other author's horror novels), though, the deliberate choice he makes to write women with trauma to dump even more trauma on is.... uncomfortable. This also bleeds into the humour (which, to me, isn't funny; maybe that's just a generational gap though), which seems to boil down to "wow, this traumatised woman sure is behaving soooo weird, isn't that funny!" - this was a bigger issue in The Final Girl Support Group, but it's still present here.

There's also the issue of: 55% of the way in, I had no investment in the plot, the characters, or the horror. Because it's not scary; it's not horrifying. If this were a film, it would be the most generic, made-for-TV plotline - oh, dolls and puppets as a representation of childhood trauma? How unique! Of course, there's no problem with using familiar tropes and metaphorical devices. The problem is that Hendrix makes it boring. Also, one of the themes of this book is exploring a woman's relationship to womanhood and motherhood - which is done in the most bland, generic way, because Hendrix doesn't actually know what either of those lived experiences is like.

So, DNF. I don't care where this book goes, and I'm sure it wouldn't be satisfying, either. As I mentioned, I won't be picking up any Hendrix books in the future - and honestly, I advise those who like his books to maybe pick up a horror novel written by someone who isn't a man that writes about non-male protagonists.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC.

After loving other books by Grady Hendrix I couldn’t wait to read this new book but it didn’t meet all my expectations.

In some parts it’s a bit slow and my attention has dropped a lot, in other parts I liked it and I couldn’t stop reading it, and the horror/weird component in this book is really weird and unusual for me!

It looks like one of those 80s/90s horror movies!

Overall it’s not a bad book and I really liked the protagonists characterisation!

Thanks to Netgalley and Titian Books for providing me with this ARC!

By far Grady Hendrix best story, it’s a twisting turning scary of jumps and intrigue. Not your expected haunted house story this book is a den of intrigue and wonder. I read it in one sitting as I was hooked from the first chapter and will never step into a house with dolls or puppets ever. I am convinced and believe every word.
A pleasure to read and a delight to reach the end, a thrilling exciting release so early in 2023 is a must read!

“I’ll come right out and say it,… Strange noises, bad vibes, your mom and dad recently passed - Your house is haunted and I’m not selling it until you deal with that.”

My thanks to Titan Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘How to Sell a Haunted House’ by Grady Hendrix.

The title is pretty descriptive of this novel’s premise as he combines family drama and supernatural horror with dark comedy.

Louise receives a call from Mark, her estranged brother, matter of factly advising her that their parents have died in a car accident. While she is not keen on dealing with the funeral arrangements and estate, she leaves her five-year-old daughter, Poppy, with her ex and flies to Charleston.

It’s clear that the siblings have a lot of history and as soon as Louise arrives at the family home she and Mark are fighting. Add to this the house is stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. They need to cooperate to clear it out in order to place it on the market. Yet the house isn’t keen on being sold and has other plans for them. No further details to avoid spoilers.

While dysfunctional relationships are standard for family dramas and psychological thrillers, when you add in a sinister house filled with creepy dolls and even creepier puppets, we quickly enter horror territory.

This novel is quite a slow burn with an emphasis upon character development over excessive jump scares. Still there’s plenty of frights as the story progresses to quite a fever pitch.

I will admit that I found elements of the story very frightening. While I can cope fine with haunted houses and ghosts, I find old dolls and puppets especially chilling just on their own. That Pupkin, the lead puppet, has a clown face - well that had me in a quivering puddle.

Overall, ‘How to Sell a Haunted House’ proved an effective horror novel infused with just enough humour that allowed some respite from the scary bits. I always feel that it’s quite difficult to balance humour and horror though Grady Hendrix has clearly mastered it.

So Grady Hendrix is an auto buy author for me. I’ve loved some of his books, I’ve liked others. I immediately loved the premise of this one. Louise and Mark are a brother and sister whose parents have just died. They have to sell the house but creepy things are happening. Did I mention the house is full of dolls and puppets?

I loved the writing. The initial creepiness when first going to the house. You aren’t sure what’s real or not. This really did freak me out and I thought it was excellent. Would definitely recommend.

Another smart, funny, frightening novel from Grady Hendrix. I love how the sibling relationship is just as horrifying as the freaky dolls…

I loved How To Sell A Haunted House. I love horror and haunted houses so this was winner for me. I’ve read a lot of books about haunted houses; I mean A LOT. I loved how this book tries to do something new with a well-worn genre. I loved the intense relationship between Louise and Mark and how they hate each other until horrific events force them to find and admit common ground. Dolls and puppets are creepy and downright terrifying in this book. I found some humour in the darkness. I loved this a lot.

Any house of a decent age is haunted. There are no spectres, but there are ghosts of memories, the people that lived and died there over the years. I grew up in a house that was once a Victorian police station and then a Greengrocers. As I moved out, my parents stayed. When they left, instead of moving far, they built a cottage in the back garden and now every time I visit, I see my old house out front. Full or memories, ghosts of the past. What I do not see is any demonic puppets like in Grady Hendrix’s latest, How to Sell a Haunted House, and the only reason it took a while to sell was the depressed housing market. This may be the truth but would not make as fun a horror novel.

Louise has moved far away from her childhood home, from her eccentric parents and irritating brother, but when her parents die, she is forced back for the funeral and to sort through their things. Her relationship with her brother, Mark, has always been poor, but when inheritance is on the line, things get worse. Mark cannot be trusted with money, but he does not seem to agree. To make matters worse there is the minor problem of their Mum’s puppet collection that appears to be coming to life and attacking people. That will make selling a house full of the things slightly trickier.

I enjoy Hendrix’s work. This is an author who takes a post-modern look at horror and spins the classic feel of 80s movies and makes them something new. My Best Friend’s Exorcism was a John Hughes take on The Exorcist, and the excellent The Final Girl Support Group was a love letter to classic slasher movies that took the genre in a new direction. You would think that with this title that Haunted House would be Hendrix’s take on the haunted house genre, but it is more a homage to the likes of Demonic Toys and Puppet Master, two series of films that 80s horror fans will know and may even cherish.

Out of all the books I have read so far by the author, this is the least left field. It is a straight horror in many places with scenes of dolls and puppets coming to life and harassing Louise and Mark in particular. Action horror struggles in the written form and the visceral scenes in Haunted House are easy to understand but feel like they should be on the screen. The sense of tension and terror is just not the same.

Where a novel has an advantage is in character development and here Hendrix pushes the sibling relationship. It is the friction and begrudging respect that Louise and Mark have for one another that separates the book from straight slasher fiction. However, I found their attitude to one another harder going than the horror. The opening act is not slasher horror, but the grimness and horror of warring families. I found it depressing and sad. True to life for many, but far more uncomfortable than a doll chasing someone down the corridor with scissors.

Hendrix’s work is often underpinned with a wry humour and in this case, it did not work as well. The eccentric extended family and nonsense about Christian puppets are there to lift the story, but the grim family feuding left me sad. The horror is of a good standard and does remind you of the Tunneller in Puppet Master, but it is not the high standard I have come to expect from the author. A competent novel, but not one of Hendrix’s best.

Loved this book, great ratio of creepiness and humour. Great character building and development. Send you through a rollercoaster of emotions, especially how realistic family relationships are when there’s death and money involved. I’m a big fan of chuck, Annabelle, the puppet master so loved the storyline in this one!

When their parents die in a car accident, estranged siblings Louise and Mark are forced to come together to decide what to do with their parent’s belongings and their childhood home. The land is worth a lot of money and they are keen to get the house on the market, but not until they’ve removed their mother’s vast collection of puppets and dolls. But disturbing things start to happen in the house, and it seems that one puppet in particular doesn’t want to leave.

Grady Hendrix is a really good horror writer. I wouldn’t say this book is scary as such, but it is definitely creepy, atmospheric and exciting. No time is wasted in getting things going, and the attacks start to happen almost as soon as Louise steps foot in the house after her parent’s deaths.

It’s quite a traditional style haunting, but has a fresh feel when combined with Hendrix’s dark humour. I loved how quickly Mercy identified that the house was haunted, and the rest of the families casual willingness to get involved. It was only Louise’s resistance to the idea of a haunting that really antagonised and escalated the situation (and boy, did it ever escalate!). Louise’s blind resistance to the facts did get a little frustrating and repetitive at times, but the fast pace and almost constant action helped to smooth over this and keep the story moving.

Having read many other Grady Hendrix books I was really looking forward to reading this, and I was not disapointed. The story is fast paced, detailed and the characters are incredibly well fleshed out.

This book was amazing! Spooky,dark,funny and sad I felt all the emotions reading this! I love Grace Hendrix’s books and was so excited about this release and it did not disappoint. All of your favourite horror elements in this book! I will recommend this book to everyone. I feel like I will think about this book for a very long time. The character development was excellent especially Marks arc as I really didn’t like him at first! Even though this was a horror it felt very real. Especially when losing a loved one and all of the secrets you unearth !

Amazing! Thank you Titan books and thank you Grady Hendrix for another masterpiece !

There was just something about the blurb of How To Sell A Haunted House that had me intrigued immediately. I've been meaning to try more of this author ever since I read The Final Girl Support Group back in 2021, and this sounded like the perfect story to do so. It's true that don't read all that many horror stories, but I loved the sound of the haunted house with the creepy puppets and dolls and I simply couldn't resist reading it to see just how far the story would go. And boy, things get without a doubt seriously twisted and spine-chilling long before you reach that final page!

I really like the premise of this story, with the seemingly haunted house stuffed to the brim with creepy dolls and puppets. Talk about the perfect backdrop for a horror story! How To Sell A Haunted House isn't just your typical horror read though, because it also has that family drama vibe as well as paranormal/supernatural elements. While it's true that I'm never a big fan of family dramas, I do like that it gave the story more balance and a little break from the truly creepy stuff.

As for the characters... I can't say I was a fan of any of them, but Mark particularly frustrated me, and I hated having to read about his relationship with Louise. True, things got better in the second half once certain things are explained, but still... I never really warmed up to Louise either, and certain actions by her are particularly stupid. The characters were part of the reason it took me a while to truly appreciate this story for what it was, but that is probably mostly me not being all that into family drama in the first place... The pace was a also bit slow in the beginning especially when compared to the second half.

Things can be said about creepy horror stories involving puppets and/or dolls, and they might or might not be your thing, but there is no doubt that How To Sell A Haunted House chilled me to the bone. I've never been a fan of dolls, and now I will never look the same at puppets either! Grady Hendrix does an excellent job slowly building up the suspense and creep factor, and the house itself had the perfect ominous feel about it. True, things get pretty wild and over the top especially in the final part, but there is no denying that the story delivers on an entertainment level while also scaring the pants off you.

In short, if you enjoy a well written horror read with creepy dolls and puppets and I like a story that focuses on family drama as well, How To Sell A Haunted House is an excellent option for you. Make sure to hide any dolls/puppets you have in your house before you read this story though if you want to be able to sleep afterwards... Pupkin is the stuff of which nightmares are made!

This was my third Grady Hendrix book and is possibly my favourite. Super creepy and darkly funny, Louise has to return to her hometown to sell her parents’ house. She’s got to deal with her complex family and also the small issue that the house is haunted…

I really don’t want to spoil any of this so I won’t give too many details. However, I’d really recommend this one if you like a creepy horror with a funny side. I loved Louise’s relationship with her brother, loved the twist when I thought where the hell is this going with so much left, and loved the final dramatic scene (can’t get the ripped fingernail out of my head of all the things that happened in the book!)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

📖 Synopsis
They story follows Louise a single mum who recieves a phone call from her brother telling her that their parents have died. She doesn't get on well with her brother as their parents always gave him what he wanted and he has never worked hard for anything in his life. There is tension and arguments between the siblings as they arrange the funeral and prepare their parents home to be sold. The problem is some homes don't want to be sold and the house has other plans for them...

Thoughts 💬
I am a fan of Grady Hendrix's comedic horror writing style and I have read most of his books. How to sell a haunted house is now my favourite by him. I found this to be horrifyingly creepy and a great build up to the main events of the book. The story is well crafted with some great twists in this as well as great character development. Grady does a great job at realistically depicting grief, trauma and the uncomfortable situations that arise when dealing with a family members death. I flew through this as I just wanted to find out how it was going to end.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan books for my ARC in exchange the review.

While lots of stories have a focus on death – the prelude to it, the act of it or the cause the subject of grief is less explored. It’s a raw emotion of loss; it can bring back memories and require us to re-appraise both our past and our future. Dealing with death can be dark, terrifying, heart-warming, and occasionally bring moments of laughter. Grady Hendrix in their excellent new horror tale How To Sell A Haunted House manages to encapsulate all of that in a tale of a family broken by loss and being haunted by something increasingly malevolent.

Louise and Mark are an estranged brother and sister living in their late thirties and voiding each other. Louise the forever focused and practical one now lives in San Francisco with her daughter Poppy. She tries not to think much of Mark a bartender who she sees forever messing things up and being coddled by her parents. But then Mark calls her from South Caroline to inform her a few days ago their parents both died in a car accident. Louise flies to her childhood home and immediately argues with Mark who wants a beach ceremony and while eventually he is persuaded to change their mind the reluctant duo then have to tackle the joys of their parent’s wills and also what happens to the family home. A home that makes strange noises; is covered in their mother’s home-made sinister puppets and as everyone says just feels weird. Louise and mark are about to find their family’s secrets are about to once again cause trouble and cause even more heartache.

This novel amazingly treads the fine line between silly, tender, and chilling horror and Hendrix constantly keeps us on our toes. The star of the tale places us firmly in Louise’s shoes the sibling, who is practical but never feels wanted and then stares at the horror of her brother’s strange and likely selfish behaviour. We feel her shock at the death and then her attempts to get back control of events from Mark. We’re quickly invested in the story. The skill Hendrix though shows is that both of these characters have flaws, and we slowly unpeel the family dynamics and secrets. Be prepared to have an open mind as characters become unlikeable; understandable and then you may change your mind a few more times for good measure. Hendrix perfectly captures a sibling dynamic where two opposites have a bond by just being family and very little else in common. For Louise and Mark, it’s a tale of them coming to terms with one another…well that and the haunting oh and the puppets.

Yes a house filled with puppets should be creepy and Hendrix manages to both show the zany side of puppetry including a fantastic funeral scene and an important revelation about Mark’s youth that will make you laugh; see him in a very different light then finally create a stunned silence. We adults shouldn’t be afraid of little fake humans and creatures let’s say stuffed squirrels made to look like humans…and yet. Hendrix initially makes us feel that silliness and then havoc gets unleashed. This house has a force that has an army to send at you and a particular puppet shows it can control its wearer to devastating effect. These scenes are filled with action; often ending bloodily and just when we think we have a handle on things Hendrix in the final act raises the stakes in an unexpected and particularly chilling way. It’s a storyline that keeps us on our toes throughout and yet neatly by the end all the pieces explaining why this happened come together.

How To Sell A Haunted House is a tale that reflect death can be terrifying; tearful and just on occasion laugh out loud funny. It captures the joys, shared memories and secrets all families may carry and no one wishes to talk about until its too late but also has a examination of love and forgiveness that makes you care about the people wrapped up in this nightmare. Highly recommended!

I chose to read a free eARC of How to Sell a Haunted House but that has in no way influenced my review.

This time last year I was aware of horror author Grady Hendrix but I hadn't read any of their books. And then I picked up a copy of The Final Girl Support Group and, oh boy, I was officially smitten. Now I have a collection of Grady Hendrix books on the bookshelf that I'm merrily working my way through (look out for my review of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires coming to the blog soon!). It's safe to say the publication of a new GH book has quickly become one of my yearly reading highlights. All in the space of a few months! So it should come as no surprise that I jumped at the chance to read How to Sell a Haunted House. And I loved every creepy, phobia inducing minute of it!

Single parent, Louise, receives a call from her brother, Mark, informing her that their parents have died in a tragic accident. Louise is devastated but reluctantly packs a bag, leaves her five year old daughter, Poppy, with her ex and heads to Charleston to take control of matters. But on arrival it becomes clear to Louise that Mark is planning on doing things his own way. Including sidelining his sister at every turn. He's planned the funeral and now all that's left to do is clear out the family home so it can be sold to the highest bidder. Mark wants no fuss or sentimentality. But Louise feels differently. She wants to honour the memory of her parents, taking time to sort and clear their possessions. The house contains a lifetime of memories. And dolls. Dolls that seem to turn up in the most unlikely of places. As do her mother's homemade puppets. Louise and Mark may be hoping for a quick sale but the house has a different idea altogether...

How to Sell a Haunted House is an utterly compelling, thoroughly creepy read with exquisite characterisation which I found nigh impossible to be parted from for any length of time. I was so drawn into Louise and Mark's story. I felt desperately sorry for Louise who seemed to be overlooked in favour of her younger sibling throughout their childhood, only for adult Mark to throw his toys out of the pram at the most inappropriate moment. My blood pressure rose as Mark did everything in his power to usurp his big sister. Removing any and all power she held at a time when emotions were raw and relationships were incredibly fragile. But, of course, it's only as the reader progresses through the book that we get to really understand these beautifully crafted siblings and see what lurks beneath the surface.

Out of all of the horror tropes one of the scariest, for me, is the creepy ass doll. Only mildly creepier is the haunted puppet. There's not much in it really but the puppet is definitely the more sinister of the two. And How to Sell a Haunted House proves my point in abundance. Hendrix has literally created a monster. Part of me wanted to hide in the wardrobe from the malevolence of nasty little Pupkin. But I couldn't put the book down! I was completely immersed in the horror that was happening before me and I loved every chilling moment.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. How to Sell a Haunted House is my favourite Grady Hendrix novel so far, but I don't think you can go wrong in picking up one of this author's books. Everything I have read to date has been thoroughly entertaining, a whole lot of fun, perfectly pitched and pretty darn memorable. I do think, at times, the pace moved a little slower than in previous books but that's never a problem, providing the characters speak to me. And they certainly did! I was swept away by the author's clever storytelling to a world of stuffed squirrels and invisible dogs and weirdly, I didn't want to leave. All in all, How to Sell a Haunted House is a winner for me. I loved the characters, I loved what the author put the characters through and I loved that it was all just a little bit bonkers, in the best way possible. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of How to Sell a Haunted House. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.