Review: A Mansion of Trash and Horrors
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2013
Miles Trenowyth, a one-armed veteran of WWI, this now being 1919,  has returned to his law firm and is visited by Noah Langley, a little scrawny, underfed odd-looking character who would remind one of Chaplin's tramp.  He and his crippled twin-sister now reside in the Langley Mansion, which has deteriorated to where it is a health hazard, ready to be torn down.  Noah is being threatened by the IRS for never having paid taxes, which he feels he doesn't owe but becomes a believer when the tax men axe their way and break into the house.  Noah seeks  Miles' help and Miles makes a deal with the revenue department so that Noah can keep the house.  Miles, upon entering the house realizes that Noah is a hoarder and through the years the house has become filled with everything that can exist, to the point that one can't walk through it without finding a path.  Noah has built types of traps along these paths in the event he is ever attacked.  One can't even get into the house because he has blocked the doors, except for a special exit.  Noah refuses to see anyone but the news stories on the IRS breaking in has made the Langley Mansion notorious.Miles is tricked into taking two men who falsely claim to be meter men into the house.  They are actually robbers after some gold coins that Noah's father is reputed to have stolen worth over a million dollars.  A young woman becomes a part of the cast because she is a do-gooder and intent on making life better for Noah.  The night becomes filled with terror as these two men are joined by a third and they attempt to frighten Noah into giving up the coins, but Noah escapes and Miles and the girl are at the mercy of these men.Although the tale is well written and well described, it becomes tedious reading about all of this junk, and the continual terrorizing.  It is too repetitious and the reader can begin to fidget because it really goes nowhere for too long.  I am only giving it three stars because of this, but many readers may really enjoy it for these very reasons.