Review: Interesting Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2013
Unfinished basements are creepy. Where else can you be six – or more – feet underground in a dark, dank, muffled, dirt-filled environment that has no sense of the passage of time?Max thinks he’s finally figured out how to silence his bullies. At first I was surprised by the author’s decision to show Max’s emotional torment without describing why such an intelligent, peace-loving guy was chosen as a victim or what was going on in the lives of Jimmy and his friends to justify their abuse. Bullies aren’t logical, though, and some human beings are just simply cruel. In retrospect this information wasn’t important or necessary for what happens next in the story. What matters is that Max’s response to their taunts is never out of proportion or unkind. If anything he isn’t quite assertive enough! This level-headedness speaks volumes about Max’s personal code of ethics.The Red Door’s climax left something to be desired. A scene I was particularly anticipating ends almost as soon as it begins. Switching away at that particular moment drained some of the tension in this story for me. It took until the final scene for me to begin regaining the excitement and dread I’d felt for these characters earlier. This would have been easily corrected in a longer book but it was difficult for me to reengage with the plot when so little of it was left.Mr. James was effective at slowly building interest in the mysteries of the Starke house, though, and in describing a recently abandoned home in eerie detail from how quickly dust covers everything to what happens to a crime scene after everyone in the outside world begins to move on with their lives.Are you ready to see what lies beyond The Red Door? This is a good tale for anyone who enjoys thinking about what might be waiting for them as much as they do actually discovering it.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews