The Flip - Michael Phillip Cash

Description: Julie and Brad Evans are house flippers. They buy low, clean out the old occupants junk, and try to make a profit. Enter Hemmings House on Bedlam Street in scenic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Too good a deal to pass up, but with an ominous secret. The old Victorian Mansion has dwellers that do not want to be dispossessed. As the house reveals it's past, will the couples marriage survive The Flip? (Summary and pic from goodreads.com.  I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.)

My Review: Well. This was a fun little book.  Right from the start, you can tell it’s a ghost story with poltergeist-type ghosts, and it appears that these ghosts are not about to hand over their old Victorian mansion to just whoever.  [Cue appropriately dramatic music] This book doesn’t really pull any punches—it is what it is. It’s a ghost story with some love stories in it, peppered with some good old-fashioned ghostly encounters.  If you’re looking for a ghost story that won’t necessarily have you scared out of your wits but will certainly come back to you if you visit any run-down Victorian mansions, then this is your book.

I wouldn’t say the premise to this book’s plot is anything shocking or new, but it certainly does a good job of creating a spooky environment.  In fact, I think that’s its greatest strength. It’s not like you’re literally too scared to read, but more like fun scared. The characters are unabashedly handsome and beautiful, and although their relationship appears perfect on the outside, there are, of course, some demons (pun totally intended) in the closet. I wouldn’t say I necessarily related to the characters, but I was certainly right there with them when they were being all creeped out by former residents of the mansion.

I am not a huge reader of hard core horror, especially if it involves a lot of gore or creepy satanic things, so this was a fun read for me and definitely my kind of horror. My brother-in-laws watch really disgusting horror movies that only hard core horror lovers even know about. Compared to those, this book is “Watcher in the Woods” (which is totally a compliment, by the way. NAREK!) It’s relatively low commitment: it’s not a literary slog nor full of confusing and inane things.The writing is really accessible and it’s a total page turner. I read it in about a day.

So if you’re looking for something fun, fast, and with a good ghost story, you should check it out. It would be perfect for Halloween readers who want something sort of light sauce or for anyone going somewhere really old and cool like the Winchester Mansion or old Victorian homesteads. You know, just to get in the mood.

My rating: 3 stars

For the sensitive reader: There is some language and one or two mild sex scenes.