Harrington House by J.P. Noether is a sweet short read with a spooky twist. Laren is in a bad relationship and when her girlfriend locks her out of the house she needs another place to live really fast.
She can’t afford much and an advert in a local paper about a small room in an old house seems to be exactly what she is looking for. As a bonus the house is rumoured to be haunted which intrigues her.
Casey, who has just bought the house, assures Laren that the house is most definitely not haunted. What a bunch of bs rumours. Right?
Casey is a qualified electrician but loves to renovate and has done a superb job with Harrington house so far. A new roof, new electrics and an overall brilliant start to the large job at hand means that they can finally earn some extra cash by renting out two of the extra bedrooms.
When Laren moves in they get along pretty well and fall into a routine with ease. But then the electricity keeps tripping and cold spots appear no matter how often fuses are replaced.
Casey refuses to believe in ghosts, even when Laren begins to get scared and asks to call in some help. What can it hurt, right? The house is definitely not haunted. Right?
The Conclusion
This is a short read at only around 20,000 words and it’s pretty packed with fun in that time.
This feels very much like a part one. There is an ending to the main plot point of the story but then Noether opens it up a crack so that you are left wondering what will happen next.
It was a sweet story told entirely from Laren’s point of view, which means we don’t really get to see what Casey is thinking or feeling. They are the kind of person to keep emotions to themselves.
Something to keep in mind is that while Casey and Laren definitely seem to have chemistry there is no actual romance between them. The house is at the centre of the story and what is going on with it.
If you want a bigger, longer explanation of what is actually going on in the house then you will probably have to wait for the next book. This one gives a cursory explanation and leaves the ending rather open.
It’s worth a read if you want something a little spooky and short and you don’t mind wanting to read the sequel.
Excerpt from Harrington House by J.P. Noether
A tiny person wearing worn, shit-brown dungarees vaulted out of it down to the lawn. They wiped their palms down the back of their thighs as they climbed the porch stairs.
“I’m sorry you had to wait. Can’t promise it’ll never happen again, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.” They stuck out their hand. “Casey Holland.”
I took it. Their warm and work-worn palm locked against mine and sent sparks tingling up my arm for three endless seconds before they let me go. “Laren Tolley,” I said. They were about four inches shorter than me, dark eyes and dark hair and absolutely vibrating with energy. They smiled at me, about a thousand megawatts punctuated with one adorably crooked tooth. I had no business looking at anyone, fresh off a bad breakup. As they brushed by me, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
Casey unlocked the door and stopped with their hand on the intricate cast-bronze doorknob. They had a level sticking out of their back pocket. “You should know that the rumors about this place are bullshit. Sometimes it’s going to make weird noises. There are weird drafts. That’s because it’s a fucking old house, not because it’s haunted. If that’s a problem for you, don’t waste my time.”
I told them I wasn’t scared of ghosts. I couldn’t afford to indulge myself in fantasy.
“Good,” they said. “I swear, if it wasn’t such a beautiful place, I could kill the guy who built it for spreading so many ghost stories around.”
“And if he wasn’t already dead,” I put in. The articles had salivated over the fact that the man who built the house had died in it.
It wasn’t a good joke, but they laughed anyway and beckoned me inside. “Let me show you what I’ve got here.”
Stepping through the door was like stepping through a portal into history. The foyer highlighted the gorgeous staircase, the kind I’d imagine sweeping down to attend a ball. It made my fingers itch for my sketchbook. I’d drawn this staircase from the pictures, but now I could draw it from life.
It bore only a faint resemblance to the house I’d seen in the local news. Casey had seen its bones and given it the kind of makeover I more commonly associated with rom-coms. Even with evidence of construction everywhere— drifts of power tools collecting in the corners, an outlet box uncovered in a freshly-painted wall— it was stunning.
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Series
Harrington House Ghost Hunters
Harrington House
Bits and Bobs
AISN number: B09HPWX1GP
Publisher: Indie Author
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